


Saving the Queen

by sultrysweet



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-06
Updated: 2014-04-06
Packaged: 2018-01-18 09:01:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 23,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1422379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sultrysweet/pseuds/sultrysweet
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Regina doesn't show up for Henry's eleventh birthday, Emma spends it searching for her after making a promise to Henry.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> When I first wrote this three-shot and posted it to fanfic.net, the Owen/Greg torture scene with Regina had yet to be aired on television so this was originally only based on the promos for 2x19 Lacey and features hints at the last three or four episodes of season 2. Enjoy! :)

Emma knew disappointment all too well. As she watched Henry stare at the candle on his birthday cake with a frown, she knew he also knew disappointment much in the same way. Recent events caused her son to seem sad and detached. Those events all had something to do with Regina Mills, his adoptive mother.

She sympathized with him as he made a wish and blew out the candle. She'd called the brunette too many times to count, both at her office and on her cell. Regina had made herself truly unavailable. On a normal day, Emma would have understood the older woman's avoidance in light of all that happened to her in the past few weeks, but not on Henry's birthday. She knew Regina a little too well to know even if she wasn't wanted there by anyone else, she'd still show up for her son. She loved him.

Henry turned after the flame from the candle was out and Emma forced a smile.

“Did you make a wish,” she asked him as he stepped away from the counter in Gold's shop and closer to his family.

“Yeah,” Henry softly said as he continued to frown.

Emma tried to maintain her smile for him.

“Did you make it a good one,” she teased as he got closer.

“I'd keep it a secret if I thought it was gonna come true, but...it won't.”

“What do you mean? It could come true. Why would you think it wouldn't?”

“Because Mom-Regina...isn't coming,” Henry confessed as he tightly wrapped his arms around Emma's waist and hugged her.

He closed his eyes and tried not to cry.

“I know she did a lot of bad stuff and...at the well when I wanted to destroy magic...things were tense, but I thought... She's never missed a birthday,” Henry sulked into Emma's stomach.

The blonde's heart sank.

“I'm sorry, Henry. But there's still plenty of time. We've got the rest of the day to see if she'll show. Maybe she just assumed we'd be at the apartment,” Emma tried to give him hope.

He relaxed as he tried to believe it and after a few seconds, Emma did the same as though she wanted to believe it too.

The two of them stayed in an embrace for a while before Henry pulled away.

“I think I'm gonna wait outside...in case I see her.”

“Okay,” Emma nodded as she forced another smile.

As he walked out of the shop, Snow stepped in front of Emma.

“Did you call her before we left?”

“Yeah,” Emma frowned.

Snow sighed.

“Maybe...it's for the best,” Snow said.

“Did you see his face? He's crushed. I refuse to let my kid think he isn't loved or cared about.”

“We let him know that every day,” Neal piped up to Emma's left. “He's got a whole family to show him he's loved.”

“But he doesn't have her,” Emma calmly argued. “You heard him. She hasn't missed a single birthday. She's still his mom. It hurts when your parents aren't there for you. You and I should know better than anyone, Neal.”

“We weren't there for you because we had to give you your best chance,” Snow argued for the millionth time.

“I spent a lifetime looking for you, Bae,” Rumpelstiltskin defended himself by the counter.

Emma clenched her jaw as she tried not to snap.

“We still grew up without parents,” Emma tried to say flatly, the hurt only slightly masked in her voice.

Neal sighed.

“She's the Evil Queen,” he stated.

“I'm not exactly a fan of hers, but I don't want Henry to feel like this. I don't want him to think that she doesn't want him or doesn't love him now that we're all hovering.”

“Then what do you suggest we do,” Snow asked. “If Regina wanted to be here, she would've been here.”

Emma furrowed her brow as she thought about it.

“That's what's weird about all this. She would go out of her way to be with Henry. Even if that meant dealing with us. Something's not right.”

“There's nothing you can do, Emma,” Snow gently said.

“The hell there isn't. Watch Henry.”

Emma made a beeline for the door and hurried outside.

Henry sat on the curb in front of the shop. He turned when he heard the door open and looked quizzically at Emma.

“Where are you going,” he asked.

“I'm gonna check on Regina. See if I can't get a hold of her in person.”

“You don't have to get her. I don't want to force her to be here.”

“Henry,” Emma said as she crouched down next to him. “I know things have been rough between all of us. Your mom...she's...going through something. I don't really understand the relationship she had with her mom, but...I think of it like this, if something were to happen to Regina, even with all the terrible things she's done, you'd be sad, right?”

He nodded after a few seconds.

“I think she's gotta find herself again. She just lost her mom and she's already lost you. She's on her own right now and that's tough. She hasn't made the best decisions lately, but...I think she did them for you. The fact that she isn't here to celebrate your birthday tells me there's more to the story than her avoiding you or anyone else here. Okay?”

“Yeah.”

“So I'm gonna find her and I'm gonna figure this out. Stay with your grandma.”

“Okay.”

Emma ran a hand through his hair.

“I'll be back soon and no matter what it takes, I promise I'm gonna make that birthday wish of yours come true. I'm gonna bring Regina back with me.”

“You're gonna bring her back before midnight?”

“Yep. Even if I have to walk barefoot across a path of burning hot rocks. She hasn't missed any of your birthdays and I'm not gonna let that change. She's not gonna miss this one.”

“Thank you.”

Emma looked him over for a few seconds before she leaned in and kissed him on the forehead.

“I love you,” she said when she pulled away.

Henry smiled.

“I love you too.”

It was the first time they'd said those words to each other.

Regina yelled as she felt the magic drain from her body into the mechanisms placed on her temples. She tensed as she tried to fight it, but she could feel herself weaken with every notch clicked on the machine.

Craig, or rather Owen, cranked up the amplitude of the machine with Tamara by his side.

Regina's yell echoed in crescendo in the dingy room. She squeezed her eyes shut and threw back her head as the magic was ripped from her.

Owen cut the machine and Regina collapsed onto the table as sweat ran down her face. She trembled and panted as she kept her eyes closed and tried to stay grounded. She could feel her mind becoming cloudy and soon she feared she wouldn't be able to think at all. 

“Tell me what happened to my father,” Owen demanded as his hand hovered above the machine's knob.

Regina didn't say a word.

“We've been at this for about an hour now? I could do this all night.”

Regina took deep but labored breaths.

“I'll count to three this time. If you don't tell me what you did to him, the pain's only going to get worse.”

“Why not just kill her already,” Tamara asked as she ran a hand down Owen's arm. “Clearly she's not going to talk and eventually, she'll barely even remember her own name.”

“And when that happens,” Hook grinned as he stepped out of the dark corner. “I'll take over. She may not be of any use to you at that point, but she'll still be valuable to me.”

Owen looked from Hook to Tamara.

“See? Even if I don't know what happened to my father, at least everyone still wins.”

Tamara slowly, wickedly grinned.

“Fine. Two more notches should convince her to share,” Tamara suggested.

Owen mirrored her grin then turned the machine on and flicked the knob two notches more.

Regina yelled again before she nearly screamed. She tried not to show weakness, but her strength, her energy, was being drained.

The pull from the machine lasted a long minute. Regina shook and suddenly felt cold.

“Hen-nry,” she she jaggedly whispered as she stared up at the ceiling with wide eyes.

“What's that,” Owen asked as he baited the brunette.

Regina couldn't say it again. She'd barely been able to the first time.

“Oh, your son. _Henry_. Yeah, I'm afraid you're not going to see him. In fact, you'll probably never see him again. Just like I never saw my dad again. Isn't it funny how life works out.”

Tears welled up in her eyes though her face appeared frozen solid, her eyes almost glazed over.

“Why don't you shock her,” Tamara suggested. “We keep taking her magic, why not give her a jolt in return?”

Owen smirked, a demented gleam in his eyes.

“I like the way you think.”

Owen flipped a switch then turned the knob to a higher number.

Regina emitted a low guttural groan before she cried out in immense pain. The electricity that circuited through her body hit every nerve and drew out her magic before what little she had left painfully flowed out of her.

Owen stopped the machine.

“Tell me, when _was_ the last time you saw your son.”

A tear streamed down her face as she became stiff, almost paralyzed.

“You see, when you do bad things, you're creating two problems. One, you push others into exacting revenge, which most of the time makes more bad people like yourself. And two, you've hurt so many people who could easily rescue you, but they won't. You want to know why? Because nobody cares about you.”

Tamara slowly sauntered up to the side of the table Regina was on.

“I think it's more than that,” she started, her tone dark and condescending. “The way I see it is that this town is your life. You've never left because...well, you made it so you couldn't get out and no one could get in. The only people you know are the people you trapped here and among the whole lot of them, not a single one loves you.”

Before Regina had time to let that sink in, Owen turned on the machine and Regina made little noise, her body weak and defenseless with nothing left in it. She still felt the pain, but the outside of her body was numb while the inside felt like an inferno.

The machine stopped and Regina's eyes finally glazed over. Her skin had started to pale and her heart had slowed almost to a stop.

Tamara touched one of Regina's wrists and grinned.

“Cold to the touch,” she reported.

“Is there still a pulse,” Owen asked.

Tamara slipped Regina’s wrist into her hand and touched an icy blue vein.

“Not much of one.”

Tamra carelessly dropped Regina's wrist back on the table then strutted over to Owen with a satisfied smirk.

Owen wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her. Their lips attacked each other or several moments as Hook pulled out a cloth and cleaned his hook.

When Owen and Tamara parted, he looked at Hook, more than satisfied, and grinned.

“She's all yours,” he said as his words got Hook's attention.

“Thanks, but I'll also need that lovely device we talked about. The one that kills magical creatures? I've still got a crocodile to skin.”

“Right. Deal's this,” Owen started. “We give you one and you find out what happened to my dad.”

“I told you, mate. If the wench didn't talk, I'd gather up what information I could about him. Knowing the Evil Queen, I'd say he didn't go far. She likes keepsakes. Has a whole vault of hearts in her family's mausoleum from what I understand.”

“Okay,” Owen said as he pulled out a taser looking device and extended it to him.

Hook reached out to take it, but Owen pulled back seconds before he could.

“But if you don't find him, don't stay good on your word, you're a dead man.”

“Got it. Now the device if you will?”

Owen handed it over and Hook grinned from ear to ear as he marveled at the mobile piece of equipment.

Owen turned and started to leave, but Tamra got in Hook's face.

“You've got a week to find out about his dad. If you don't have anything for us, we'll gladly take that back and maybe even do to you what we did to her.”

Tamara turned and went to the base of the machine. She opened it up to reveal a jar filled with purple smoke and crackling sparks of magic they'd extracted from Regina.

Hook watched her leave the magic before he directed his attention to the brunette on the table.

“Looks like it's just you and me,” he said as she held up his hook and reflected the overhead lights with it.

Emma sped down Mifflin Street as she tightly gripped the steering wheel. She swerved into the driveway and parked, knowing it would upset the brunette if she saw the eyesore of a car in her driveway as though Emma belonged there.

She was angry about the situation, no matter the unknown circumstances, and decided to take it out on Regina. She was good at being confrontational with the older woman. They hadn't stopped fighting since the day Emma drove into town. They'd had their moments of understanding, but eventually they'd be back at each others' throats. She could handle Regina. She couldn't handle not knowing why Regina hadn't showed up and disappointed Henry.

She pounded on the door like she had an angry mob with her demanding the Queen's head. When she realized the similarity, reminiscent of Dr. Whale and a group of disgruntled Storybrooke citizens, Emma slightly changed her approached.

“Regina! It's Emma. Open up!”

She rang the doorbell a few times then pounded on the door again.

Emma sighed and looked at the driveway. The Mercedes was gone, but something still felt off.

She snagged a bobby pin out of her coat pocket and broke it in half. She bent down and stuck both pieces into the lock and picked it. Within a minute or two, the lock clicked open and Emma quickly made her way inside.

She shut the door behind her and looked around. It had been a while since she'd been inside the house. Come to think of it, the last time she had been inside was when she told Regina she was leaving town and then accepted a poisoned apple turnover from the brunette. It'd been almost a year since then. Emma realized in that moment just how much had changed.

She didn't have time to dwell, though. She had to find Regina. She promised Henry they'd see each other before the day ended. Emma went straight to the kitchen. Nothing looked out of place, but that feeling. It was an eery emotion, a near fear she couldn't escape. Her heart pounded vigorously in her chest as her brain screamed, “This is all wrong!”

She went upstairs and opened doors to almost every room. She opened the linen closet, the bathroom, and then Regina's room. She crept inside as though Regina would be there complaining about the blonde being in her bedroom without permission, especially when the two weren't that close let alone pleased with each other at that time. But the brunette wasn't there.

She opened Regina's closet and immediately dropped her jaw. On the top shelf, there were two carefully wrapped boxes, one small and the other a decent size, in blue and white paper that read, “Happy Birthday” over and over again.

Emma wasn't entirely sure what that meant, but at least she knew Regina had planned to give Henry gifts somehow, at some point that day.

Emma started to worry as that “something isn't right” feeling intensified.

Suddenly, the front door was thrown open and Emma tensed at the sound. At least two sets of feet shuffled through the foyer as Emma focused all attention on who could be inside.

Then the intruders spoke.

“She's got to have a spell book around here somewhere,” a female voice said. “All witches have them, don't they?”

“She's got one. If she has a bunch of hearts in a vault, she's got a spell book,” a male voice explained.

“Those hearts,” the female started. “You think we could do something with them?”

“If we find her spell book, I just might be able to answer that question.”

The two strangers moved through the house, toward the living room.

Emma quietly but quickly closed the closet and tip-toed to the bedroom door. She leaned against it and listened through the door to try and make out who was talking.

“That magic was...something else,” the woman said. “I've had my fair share of magical taste, but hers...that Queen surely proved to me why she carries the title.”

“Don't forget what she did to my father,” the man bitterly said. “Her magic may be strong, but she's not someone to admire or adore. She's a monster and she deserved what she got. Whatever that guy wanted with her after we left, I'm sure she deserves that too.”

“Owen,” the woman soothingly started. “I want you to find out what happened to your dad as much as you do. I gave the Captain a little incentive to make sure he doesn't try to double cross us. He's got a week to find something out. It doesn't have to be big, but it's got to be a lead. We'll know soon enough what happened to him. Besides, once we take all the magic from this place, there's nothing that can stop us. Not even an Evil Queen if she survives after today.”

Emma panicked. She kept still, but her mind jumped from one bad thought to the next.

Regina was in trouble. If she didn't find the brunette soon, Henry would fall apart at the loss of his other mother.

_Dammit, Regina. What kind of trouble did you get yourself into?_

She heard the footsteps ascend the stairs and her eyes widened. She turned to the window across the room and took large, quiet strides toward it. She unlocked it then slid it open, which was a challenge due to the noise it made every time she pushed it upward.

Emma clenched her jaw, her muscles tense as she tried to sneak out of Regina's house. It was never something she thought she'd have to do, but there she was climbing out a second story window that lead to the brunette's bedroom.

She hurried to close the window behind herself and pulled away just as the door opened. She threw herself to the side and pressed her back flush against the house. She sat on the roof with her knees to her chest as she tried to remain hidden beside the window.

“Where do you think she keeps it,” the woman asked.

“I don't know. Somewhere she feels she holds the most power.”

“Like a powerhouse?”

“Yeah, but it could be buried in the backyard, under a bench, in a tree.”

_Tree,_ Emma thought.  _The apple tree._

“What kind of spell are we looking for,” the man asked.

“Well, I don't know about you, but I want all the magic in this awful, miserable town. I want power. I want to win,” the woman said. “With magic, we can help ourselves. We don't have to feel like we did growing up. We don't have to be the victims with emptiness in our hearts because something was taken from us. With magic, we can be the ones that take it all away.”

Emma knew she'd heard that voice before, but she still couldn't tell who was talking. She didn't even remember anyone in town named Owen, but at least she knew one name.

“Let's check the yard,” the woman said after a few more minutes of rummaging through things.

Then a phone rang from inside the room.

The woman sighed.

“What is it,” the man asked.

“He's calling again.”

“Answer it. He might have something for us.”

For a few seconds, everything was quiet. Then the woman started talking again, but not to the man in the room.

“Hello? Hey. Whoa, whoa. Neal, slow down.”

Emma's eyes nearly popped out of her head.

_Tamara._

“No, that's okay. I'm...do you want to meet somewhere? ...Okay. I can do that. Yeah, I'll see you in a bit. Bye.”

“I've got to go,” Tamara told Owen.

“Okay. I'll keep looking for the book while you handle that.”

“Sounds good. See you later.”

Emma softly scrambled down to the edge of the roof and waited a few seconds to see if Tamara would emerge. She figured she only had a few seconds before the Owen character would catch her crouched down on the roof so she didn't waste time when Tamara didn't immediately come out. She took her chances and jumped off the roof.

She landed on her feet, but made sure to roll on her side to keep herself from over-sticking the landing and sprain her ankles. She rolled several times in the grass beside the walkway until she ended up on her back.

She hurried to her feet and pulled out her keys before she put her car in neutral. She pushed it out of the driveway and nearly ran to catch up to it once the forward momentum picked up toward the street.

She turned the wheel until she and the car disappeared behind the bushes in front of the house.

The front door opened.

She knew she had to act fast and the car had been harder to push once she reached the street. She slid inside and started it up. She put the yellow bug in reverse and drove it backwards down the street to avoid Tamara seeing her car at all. When she reached the stop sign at the end of the street, she backed her way around a corner then put the car in drive before she sped off toward the main road.

Emma sprinted into the Sheriff's station and didn't even notice her dad was there until he spoke up.

“Whoa! Emma. Where's the fire,” Charming asked as he stood from the deputy's desk and frowned at his daughter.

“Not a fire. Possible homicide and magical theft,” she briskly stated as she went into her office and grabbed her gun and holster out of her desk.

“What?”

“Regina's gone. She could be dead right now or being tortured or something else not good!”

“Are you going to look for her?”

“I'm _still_ looking for her. I left Gold's shop to find her and when I went to her house, this guy showed up with Tamara.”

“Wait, Tamara? As in, Neal's girlfriend Tamara?”

“Fiancee,” Emma corrected as she bolted for the door.

“What are you doing?”

“I'm going to the Mayor's office. That might be where they abducted her.”

“What about the magical theft thing?”

“Tamara wants to steal all the magic in Storybrooke. She and the guy she showed up with were talking about Regina's magic, how it felt. I don't really know what that means, but I'm sure it isn't good for Regina.”

“Well, if Regina doesn't have her magic, aren't we all safe?”

“I don't know about you, but I felt a lot safer when Regina was the one that had some strong ass magic, not some sociopath who doesn't know the first thing about it. At least Regina has some self-control. Who knows what Tamara will do if she gets her hands on more of it.”

“So...does this mean Neal knows about her plans too? Was he the one with her at Regina's place?”

“No. It was some guy named Owen.”

“Then what does that mean for Neal?”

“I don't know,” Emma admitted after a minute as Charming followed her out of the station, his gun already in his holster. “And I don't really care right now. I've got to find her.”

“You're not going alone. I'm coming with you.”

“I can handle this,” Emma said before she stopped at her car in the parking lot.

“I'd feel much better if you had back up. Going against those two, maybe even Neal as well...that's a dangerous thing. It's nice to have someone there in case things get rough.”

Emma sighed as she realized he wouldn't back down.

“Fine.”

“We should take the cruiser,” Charming suggested.

Emma rolled her eyes and moved from her car to the work car.

“I'm driving,” she flatly demanded as she walked around to the driver's seat.

Charming led the way as both he and Emma had their guns drawn. He opened the door to the Mayor's office and took long strides inside. He went straight, toward Regina's desk, while Emma covered him and turned to her left.

Emma approached the mirror and tried to listen for any indication that Regina was nearby.

Charming looked out the office window and stared down at the apple tree.

“What is it you were telling me about the tree,” Charming asked.

“We need to get to it before Tamara and Owen do.”

“And why is that again?”

“Because I know where Regina keeps her spell book. Without it, Tamara and Owen won't be able to take any magic, at least not the way they want to.”

“I'll go get it,” Charming said.

“Shh,” Emma took a hand off her gun and held it up to Charming. “I hear something.”

It was barely audible, but a muffled humming came from behind one of the walls.

Emma furrowed her brow and listened closer. As she stood in front of the mirror, she felt a tingling sensation throughout her body as the humming grew louder.

She faced the mirror and listened again. The humming sounded at random intervals. She focused and listened for almost another minute before she realized it wasn't humming. Someone was talking.

“Uh...this may be a stupid question, but...the Evil Queen had this thing with mirrors, right,” Emma asked.

Charming moved away from the window and closer to his daughter.

“Yeah.”

Emma took a deep breath and lowered her gun. She took her left hand off it and reached out to the mirror. She touched it and gold smoke swirled around in it before she saw Hook standing over a pale and stunned Regina.

“Damn,” Emma breathed out as she stared wide eyed at the mirror. “I'm gonna need that book.”

Emma pulled her hand away from the mirror and the image of Regina and Hook disappeared. She turned to Charming, still shocked at what she'd done then looked ahead. She went out back to get to the tree and holstered her gun on the way out.

Charming hurried after her as he kept his gun at his side. When they were outside, he stopped a few feet behind Emma as she knelt down in front of the bench by the apple tree.

“The apples are almost black. The tree is dying,” Emma said as she stuck her hand under the bench and felt around.

“So?”

“If the tree dies, so does her magic. This is a...” Emma trailed off to find the right words. “Honey crisp tree. It can survive temperatures as low as forty below and keep growing. The weather is maybe sixty degrees at the lowest this time of year and yet, her tree is still dying. She's weak.”

“How do you know that?”

“She told me once. My first week here, she offered me a basket of apples and talked about this tree before she tried to run me out of town. She said she's tended to it since she was a little girl. It's the only apple tree I know of in Storybrooke and Regina's known for using apples to poison people. She did it to Mary Mar-Sno- _ Mom _ and she tried to do it to me. This is where her power comes from.”

“And you remembered all that?”

“Well,” Emma said as she felt something under the bench and pulled at it. “It's kind of hard to forget since I did take a chainsaw to this thing the same day. I cut off a branch trying to work out some aggression.”

Emma smirked as she remembered the day well and placed the spell book she'd taken from under the bench in her lap.

“You should've seen her face. She was pissed.”

Charming was impressed she'd found the book, but that didn't stop him from silently questioning his daughter's change in mood toward the brunette. The way she'd smirked about an incident between the two of them had Charming wonder if she actually saw it as a good memory. He tried not to believe that's what she thought because then they'd need to have a talk. Nothing about Regina was good, not even memories of her as far as the town was concerned.

Emma opened the book and flipped through the pages.

“What are you looking for?”

“Regina can just go poof in a puff of smoke. She can go anywhere. I want to know how.”

“Why?”

“To get to her. I may have seen Hook with her while she's lying stiff on some table, but I don't where that is. If I'm gonna find her, I need to know where to go.”

“Using magic as a shortcut to get to her? Emma, that's personal gain. That's the start of dark magic.”

“She doesn't have a lot of time. Magic's the only chance I have of saving her.”

“Okay, what's with you,” he asked as she continued to look through the book. “First you're adamant about finding her, now you want to  _ save  _ her? She doesn't deserve kindness from us and I'm pretty sure that everything with Henry has made her hate you as much as she hates your mother.”

“That doesn't mean she's not worth saving. She could hate me until forever. I'm got gonna let Henry lose her.”

“There's no hope for her, Emma. Even if you saved her from whatever is going on right now, she'll still be evil. She hasn't redeemed herself and she's had one too many chances. Every single one of them ending in her causing a great deal of pain and destruction. She'll never change.”

“She has Henry.”

“It won't make a different.”

“She at least  _ tried  _ this time! She said she was gonna change and I saw her change. What happened with Archie...she didn't do it. He wasn't even dead. It was Cora.”

“Yeah, and then she teamed up with Cora and tried to kill us all.”

“Can you blame her? She lost everything and then her mom came back with this promise of getting Henry back. That's all she's wanted. Whatever Cora had in mind wasn't on Regina's radar. She blindly believed her mother and got sucked into magic again. Redemption isn't easy and no one seems to understand that.”

Charming sighed.

“I think you're putting too much faith in her. You're only going to get let down.”

“If that happens, oh well. I've been let down enough times in my life to know how to deal with it. I've got to believe her because...I don't think anyone else does. Henry...maybe. He doesn't seem so sure anymore.”

“Then you probably shouldn't be either.”

“If I do that then Regina's gonna have to try a hell of a lot harder. It sucks when no one believes in you. You're your own worst enemy and the world tells you that you can't do it and you tell yourself you can't do it. Then what have you got? Nothing. Regina's still human. I may have had a moment of doubt after what I saw in the dream catcher, but you know what, I still know her. I still believe her. And I'm gonna save her.”

Emma flipped through a few more pages before she found what she needed. She started reading.

“If this is all for Henry then where does that leave Neal? He  _ is _ Henry's father.”

“I know that. I'm the one that had that has his kid, remember?”

She kept her eyes on the book and continued to read.

“Well, Regina already doesn't like it that you're in Henry's life. How's she gonna feel with Neal in it?”

“If Neal has something to do with Tamara's plans, he's _ not _ gonna be in Henry's life.”

“So he makes one mistake and you'll keep him away from Henry, but Regina spends years and years ruining everyone's lives over and over again? Constantly making bad decisions? How is  _ that  _ fair?”

Emma groaned.

“I don't have time to get into this with you. Regina needs me.  _ Henry _ needs me.”

She looked down at the book and read the part about how to visualize what you're searching for, what you want.

_ Think of the person or place you're trying to reach,  _ it read.

Emma closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Nothing happened.

She frowned and opened her eyes.

“Why isn't it working,” she asked.

“It's a different kind of magic. It's not something you're used to. And you don't really know how to use the magic you are capable of either. Magic isn't something you can just do. It takes practice.”

“Here's me practicing,” Emma bitterly said as she glared at him.

She stood up and stormed back into Regina's office.

Charming sighed and followed after her.

“Emma...Emma,” he called after her, his tone regretful and almost soothing as he tried to fix his mistake. “I didn't mean it like you were bad at magic. I don't have magic and your mother doesn't have magic. We don't know the first thing about it, but we know it's dangerous if you're not careful. We just worry. That's all.”

Emma went straight to the mirror and tucked the book under her right shoulder. She touched the mirror with her left hand and the image of Regina reappeared. The pirate raised his hook in a threatening manner.

“Regina,” Emma called out as she wanted nothing more than to stop Hook before he did any more damage.

Within seconds, a red puff of smoke engulfed the blonde and the image of Regina in the mirror vanished with her.

“No,” Charming yelled as she ran toward the mirror and tried to wrap his arms around Emma.

It was too late. She was already gone and there was nothing to embrace but a dissipating red cloud.

Emma reappeared in the red smoke behind Hook as he jabbed Regina in the heart with pointy metal.

Regina hadn't moved.

Without hesitation, Emma jumped on Hook's back and reached for his left wrist.

Hook grunted and struggled to rid himself of the blonde.

Emma grabbed his wrist and pulled his hook away from Regina only to reveal the blood on the end of it. She tried not to focus on it as he thrashed around beneath her.

He shucked her off his back with the use of his shoulders while his elbow slammed into her ribs.

Emma groaned and fell onto the floor as she held her side.

Hook turned and stared down at her with a grin.

“Would you look at that,” Hook started. “Someone's come to save the Queen. Never thought it'd be you.”

“I'm a mystery like that,” Emma angrily said through gritted teeth as she tried to fight the pain.

“Well, unfortunately for you, there won't be much saving. She should be dead within a few minutes and you can join her.”

He raised his bloody hook and swung down at her chest as she quickly drew her gun and fired.

He touched his right thigh and winced before he keeled over and fell on top of Emma.

She held out her hand to prevent Hook's weapon of choice from connecting with any part of her before she grunted and pushed him off of her.

“That won't be enough to stop me,” Hook said. “After what she and Cora did to me, the way they set me up. They were never going to help me. Since Cora's dead, Regina will be the one to suffer.”

“Not if I can help it,” Emma said as she turned to Regina and removed the  small devices  from her temples.

She brought them over to Hook and placed them on his temples. He put up a small fight, but she stepped on the bullet wound in his thigh to get him to cooperate. 

She went over to the machine and turned the knob to a sensible but still effective number as she kept the switch on the last setting applied to it.

Electricity flowed from the machine to Hook and caused him to yell. He seized on the floor as the machine shocked him until he passed out.

Emma turned off the machine and took a few long strides to the table.

“Regina?”

Emma looked over the other woman's features. She winced as her eyes found the hole dug into her chest from the hook.

“Regina!”

The brunette remained as stiff as a board.

Emma reached out and tried to find a pulse. She checked both the older woman's neck and wrist. She couldn't find one.

“No, no, no, no, no. Please. Not today. ...Not ever. Come on. You still haven't given Henry his presents. The kid needs you. He misses you. Regina...he  _ loves _ you. Don't do this to him.”

Emma shook her, but nothing happened. She sighed in defeat and looked Regina over from head to toe. She wore a red shirt and black skirt, the ones she had worn to the dinner at Granny's after she got Emma and Mary Margaret out of the well months ago.

“I'm not gonna let you die. There has to be a way to save you.”

Emma ran a couple fingers through Regina's hair before she stroked the brunette's cheek. Suddenly, her hand glowed as she felt a warmth between her and Regina. It was a soft, subtle hue of gold that illuminated the side of Regina's pale face.

“I found you.”

Emma closed her eyes and touched Regina's shoulder. She felt something drag out of her and into Regina. She gasped as she hunched over the brunette. She tried to grab the side of the table to steady herself, but held Regina's hand instead.

Gold light glowed between Regina's shoulder and hands where Emma touched her as the color came back to Regina's face. After a few seconds, she blinked then gasped for air.

Regina arched her back and Emma felt her energy rush to the other woman.

Her eyes flashed gold much like Regina's flashed purple whenever the brunette used magic, but she could feel herself weakening. She gave Regina everything she had.

Beneath her, through their magical connection, Emma could feel Regina's life return to her. At that point, she couldn't stop. What she wanted to give Regina and what she had to give Regina were two different things and only one would ensure the Queen's life. What she wanted to give wasn't enough to bring her back, but what she could give meant everything.

She drained herself until she had nothing left to give. The glow faded from her hands as her eyes returned to their natural green color and she tiredly collapsed onto the floor.

Regina took a deep breath and sat up. The slash in her chest from the pirate's hook was gone. She looked at Emma as the blonde lay on the floor, a little worse for wear.

“You saved me,” Regina breathlessly said.

“I made a promise to Henry,” Emma said as she painfully sat up.

Regina shook her head.

“That couldn't have been just about Henry.”

“Then what else was it? True love?”

“We don't have time for this. I'm missing Henry's birthday and I never-”

“Miss a birthday. I know, but there's something we've got to do first,” Emma said as she stood.

Emma used her newly acquired skill of disappearing in a cloud of smoke and stopped Tamara before she could hurt Neal or steal the magic from Storybrooke. She also managed to learn a new magic trick, but it was taxing on the body and confused not only her, but Regina as well.

She'd body checked Tamara and tossed her to the ground then pinned her down. When she did, she reached out for Regina without thinking about it and grabbed her wrist. She transferred Regina's magic from Tamara back into its rightful owner. She dragged Tamara's sorry ass back to the station along with Owen who had decided to follow his girlfriend to meet an innocent, unsuspecting Neal.

As she locked Tamara and Owen up, Charming tried to play twenty questions and figure out what happened when Emma vanished to find Regina. Emma dodged every single one of them and eventually, Charming said he was glad she was okay and left it at that.

Emma drove Regina home and called Snow on the way as Charming went to the apartment with Neal in the cruiser.

“David's on his way to pick up you and Henry. He's gonna bring you guys over to Regina's place.”

“Why?”

“It's a surprise for Henry.”

“Okay. Are you already there?”

“I will be in a few minutes.”

“Okay. We're leaving right now.”

“Thanks.”

Emma hung up and felt Regina staring at her from the passenger's seat. She briefly took her eyes off the road and met the brunette's gaze.

“It's going to be a long night, isn't it,” Regina said.

“Probably, but at least you'll get to see Henry and you'll still be around for his next birthday.”

“I barely made it through this one.”

“As long as I'm around, you're not going anywhere. Unless you die of natural causes. How old are you anyway?”

“A woman never reveals her age.”

“Good thing for me that you're not a woman. You're a witch,” Emma teased with a smile.

“Just because you saved me today doesn't mean you get to make jokes about me.”

“Even though we still have to talk about how that was even possible?”

“Tomorrow. We'll talk about it tomorrow. I just want to see Henry. The worst part about what happened today was not knowing if I'd ever see him again. I don't want death staring me in the face and have that regret that I didn't say everything I needed to say to him, that I didn't do everything right by him.”

Emma smiled.

“Well, you've got tonight and that's a start.”

“You're not going to keep from him anymore?”

“I want to take things slow. If he wants to see you, he can. At first, I might just tag along with him to make sure you're okay, you know, with the magic stuff. If you prove to me you're doing better then you can have him to yourself for a little while. And we'll go from there.”

“...Thank you.”

“Wow. No, 'he's _my_ son. There's no need for a chaperone when I see him'?”

“I would never hurt him, at least not on purpose, but things have been a little difficult lately with not being able to see him and then with my mother. I was in your shoes once. I didn't think having you around would be good for him and now, I don't think that anymore. You're just looking out for him. Today I realized, among other things we'll discuss later, you want what's best for him as well. Right now, I'm not so sure _I'm_ what's best for him. I don't want to mess this up. If taking it slowly is what's best, which I agree that is it, then I'm willing to do that.”

“Okay,” Emma said as she parked in Regina's driveway. “Let's go see our son.”

Regina smiled as Emma got out of the car. She followed the blonde's lead, but forced the smile to disappear when she shut the passenger's door.

“Oh, Miss Swan,” she caused Emma to stop and look at her. “Just because I'm willing to cooperate with you doesn't mean you get to park in my driveway.”

Emma smirked.

“I couldn't resist. I love it when you get angry.”

Regina grinned as she fell in step with the blonde.

The two of them went inside the house and Emma was the first to break the silence.

“Oh, I think you're gonna want to find a new place to hide your spell book. My dad was there when I found it.”

“Noted. What did you get Henry for his birthday?”

“You.”

“You didn't buy him a gift?”

“I didn't know what he wanted and I asked him, but he kept giving me silly answers like, 'I just want you to be there' or 'All I need is maybe a cake and the family together.' I mean, the kid is really profound.”

Regina laughed.

“Well, I suppose family is as good a gift as any,” Regina said.

“What did you get him,” Emma asked.

“You'll just have to wait until he opens it.”

“Fair enough.”

“Speaking of gifts, I should go get his from my room.”

Regina went upstairs and collected the two presents. It took her only a few minutes to return downstairs and make herself comfortable in the living room.

Emma stood in the archway of the living room and stuffed her hands in her pockets.

“So...tomorrow. Maybe we could talk about how things are gonna change between us over breakfast,” Emma asked.

“That sounds nice,” Regina warmly smiled.

“Maybe we could have breakfast here. Just you and me.”

“I'm okay with that.”

“And I'm kind of tired so...” Emma purposely trailed off.

Regina tried not to laugh.

“Would you like to stay the night, Miss Swan?”

Emma smiled.

“Yeah.”

“You can stay in the guest room.”

“Thanks.”

The doorbell rang and Emma nervously looked from the door back to Regina.

“Time to see what those big family dinners are all about,” Emma joked.

Regina smiled before the blonde turned to get the door.

“Emma,” the brunette called out after the younger woman had taken only a few steps.

The Sheriff came back to the archway and waited for Regina to continue.

“We'll figure this out.”

And just like that, it clicked. Emma had never felt more safe and secure in her entire life. She didn't know what would happen next, but she knew one thing.

“I believe you.”

 


	2. Chapter 2

Henry sat comfortably on the couch in the living room as he excitedly tore off the wrapping paper of the smaller present. His grandparents happily sat next to him and watched as he opened the gift, though they were skeptical about being in Regina's house and even more so being around Regina.

Per Henry's request, Regina pulled the cake she'd bought him out of the refrigerator while he opened the presents. She would've preferred to serve the cake then give him his gifts, but he was all too thrilled to see she'd gotten him anything given the recent family drama that befell them over the last few months. Instead, he begged her to let him open the gifts and he would eat the cake after.

When Regina set the cake on the island counter, Emma came to stand in front of her around the corner of the island. It gave them a bit of distance, but they were plenty close considering their spiteful relationship a year ago.

“A book,” Henry loudly asked in confusion from the living room.

Regina looked in the direction of Henry's voice, but couldn't see him from where she stood.

“A journal,” Regina yelled across the way as she remained in the kitchen.

“There's already stuff written in it!”

“Yes,” Regina called back then sighed before she could continue.

Regina looked to Emma.

“Can you start cutting pieces,” Regina asked her.

“Uh, sure as long as you don't mind them being uneven,” Emma tensed her shoulders in a shrug she didn't complete until Henry spoke again.

“Mom!”

“I'll be in to explain it in just a second,” Regina said over her shoulder than turned back to Emma. “I'm too tired to care. It's been a long day and we're just going to eat it anyway so...cut it however you like or whichever way you _can_.”

With that, Regina went into the living room and left Emma alone with the cake. The blonde didn't know where anything was and didn't have a thing to cut the cake with. She didn't even have plates to put the pieces on when she finished, but she took a deep breath and looked around to do what she could to help.

Regina timidly, uncharacteristically, entered the living room, unsure if Henry liked the gift. She wanted him to like it, wanted him to accept her again, and she misplaced the anxiety of his acceptance on her presents for him.

“What kind of journal is it,” Henry asked.

Regina felt two pairs of nervous and unforgiving eyes staring at her. She looked at Snow and Charming and caused them both to uncomfortably look away. When they did, she tried not to smirk as she redirected her attention back to Henry.

“I thought since you liked the book about the Enchanted Forest, stories of your family and I, you might like writing your own stories and life experiences.”

“And the stuff that's already in it?”

“I wrote them. They explain my version of a few truths not told in your book and some that _were_ in the book but weren't entirely accurate. I didn't know how much you'd like that since nobody really likes to hear my side of things, but I thought maybe if I wasn't around and you were ever curious-”

Henry smiled and cut her off.

“I love it. And I do want to know your side of things.”

Regina genuinely smiled.

Henry looked at the larger present at his feet before he carefully set aside the journal. He knelt down on the floor and ripped through the wrapping paper.

Emma came out with three plates, each with a somewhat hefty size piece of cake on it. She held one plate in each hand and balanced the third on her forearm as she walked slowly toward the couch. She handed two of the plates to Snow and Charming when Henry revealed the mahogany box under the wrapping paper.

Henry stared down at it for a moment, confused but intrigued, before he unlocked the rectangular box. It was lined with red velvet and held a shinny silver sword with gold lining on the intricate hilt that raised from the handle and crossed in graceful “x”.

Henry gasped.

“You got me a sword?!”

Snow and Charming dropped their jaws as they stared wide eyed at the sword.

“A real sword,” Henry screamed his question a second time as he beamed up at Regina.

Regina's smile spread.

“This is so cool!”

Emma's eyes widened as she looked from the sword to Henry then to Regina.

“A sword,” Snow quietly asked, still in shock.

“Yes,” Regina answered as she took her eyes off Henry to address Snow with full attention.

“He's not ready for that,” Charming said as he finally looked away from the sword.

“He doesn't have to use it right away. I realize the dangers of wielding a real sword. You still have a lot to teach him and that's fine. When he's ready, he'll have it.”

“What the hell is he gonna need a sword for in Storybrooke,” Emma finally asked.

Regina frowned. She didn't expect that kind of response from the blonde. In fact, she thought the younger woman would actually be on her side. She didn't know why she'd thought that, but she had.

“Not everyone here is good. Rumpelstiltskin may still be a threat. He's not one to be trusted and if ever there's a fight between him and us, Henry will be able to protect himself.”

“He's not the only threat,” Charming muttered under his breath, but everyone heard him.

Emma shot him a disapproving look while Regina glared at him.

Snow realized the two of them were equally unhappy with his comment and furrowed her brow. She didn't like the shift in dynamic she felt occur.

“Maybe you should keep it here at the house,” Snow quickly suggested. “Until Henry's ready for it. Out of sight, out of mind.”

“But grandma,” Henry whined.

Snow shot Henry an authoritative look.

“It's okay, Henry,” Emma cut in.

Henry barely noticed Snow before he turned to Emma seconds after his grandma gave him the look.

“It'll stay here, but it's yours. Your mom and I will have to come up with a few rules in order for you to use it like when it's okay for you to use it and when you're ready to use it, but we're not gonna _forbid_ you from even touching it before you're ready, okay? Just respect our rules and everything will fine. Got it?”

Henry smiled from ear to ear as he nodded.

Snow stared at Emma, slack-jawed and displeased.

“Excuse me,” Snow started, upset. “Since when do you get to undermine my authority?”

“Since he's my son,” Emma defended. “The only time you get to discipline him is if he does something wrong at the apartment or talks back or something that directly affects you. The rest of the parenting is up to Regina and me.”

“Do not talk to your mother like that,” Charming sternly warned.

Emma sighed and rolled her eyes.

“You know what, it's Henry's birthday. Can we save the fighting for another day and just let him enjoy this?”

Snow stared down at her lap as she picked her cuticles while Charming sighed.

“You're right,” Charming started as he glanced from Emma to Regina then looked at his grandson. “We're sorry, Henry.”

Snow apologetically smiled at him.

“It's okay,” Henry said.

“Great. Now that that's settled, here's your cake,” Emma kindly smiled as she handed him a plate.

“Thanks,” he said as he took the plate from her. “Can we watch a movie? As a family?”

“Is that another one of your birthday wishes,” Emma lightly laughed as she asked him.

Henry smiled.

“Not a wish. I'm just asking. We don't have to, but I'd like it if we all sat together. All five of us.”

Emma looked at her parents.

“What do you think,” she asked them.

Snow and Charming looked at their daughter then at their grandson. Charming looked at Snow for confirmation before he answered the blonde.

“We wouldn't mind,” he said to Emma then looked behind her and to the right at Regina.

Emma turned and faced the brunette.

“Is it okay that they stay a while longer?”

Regina forced a smile as she tried to be okay with the situation. When she looked at Henry, it made her decision easier whether she liked it or not. She looked at Emma again and replied.

“It's fine.”

Emma smiled and gave a single nod as if to silently say, “Thank you.” She stared into brown eyes for a few more seconds before she turned to Henry.

“What do you want to watch,” she asked.

Mary Margaret, David, Henry, and Emma sat on the couch together as they watched the rest of the movie Henry had picked. Henry had a plate with a large piece of cake only half eaten on it while everyone else had finished theirs and left it on the coffee table.

Regina put the leftover cake, still in the box on the kitchen island, back into the refrigerator and started to clean up while everyone settled from the short, though mostly happy, second birthday celebration of the day. Occasionally, she looked over to the see the family together on the couch. She displayed a pained smile as she looked at Henry curled into Emma's side between the blonde and Snow White. Emma sat on the far end while David sat on the other. They were picture perfect and made Regina doubtful about her place among them.

David looked past his wife and took a moment to stare at Emma and Henry. He smiled then looked at Snow. She nodded after a few seconds of silent understanding and the two of them turned to Emma.

“We should be going,” Snow started. “Are you two coming?”

“Uh,” Emma hesitated as she looked from Henry to Regina.

When her eyes locked with the brunette, she almost felt guilty for what she was about to ask their son.

“Henry, do you want to go back to the apartment or stay in your room here tonight?”

Henry frowned as he thought over it.

“Where are you staying tonight,” he asked her.

“I'm gonna stay here. Your mom and I have a lot to talk about.”

“Well...would it be so bad if I went with grandma and grandpa,” Henry asked as he looked at Emma for most of the question, but turned to Regina toward the end of it.

Regina forced a smile, but it didn't look much better than her pained smile from earlier. She knew it would take time to earn his trust again, but it still hurt when he chose the Charmings over her.

“If that's what you want, Henry,” Regina nodded.

“Are you sure? I could stay here.”

“No, you should go with them,” Regina tried to make it easier on him. “If you're worried about my feelings, I'll be fine. Do what makes you happy. That's all I want for you. I want you to be happy.”

Henry smiled and got off the couch. He ran into the kitchen and hugged her.

“Thank you,” he said as he gave her a light squeeze.

Regina gently hugged him back as she tried not to get too attached. When she looked at Snow and David's matching disapproving gazes, she eased up seconds before Henry pulled away.

Emma apologetically smiled at Regina as Henry came back to the living room.

Snow and David beamed at Henry as David grabbed the boy's coat off the back of the couch and helped him into it.

After Henry's coat was on and he'd turned back to his grandparents, Snow turned to Emma behind her.

“You're sure you want to stay here,” she asked.

“Yes. You and David are always talking about how you two find each other. Well, I found her.”

Snow shook her head.

“Magic found her. Just because you're a lot more powerful than we knew doesn't mean you and Regina should be together.”

“I _used_ magic to find her. In order to have done that, I needed to concentrate. The only time I've ever used magic was when I was protecting people, thinking about them and why I was protecting them. David was there. He saw. Hook was about to attack her and, even though he was successful, the only thing I thought about was stopping him. I only wanted to find her so I could save her, _protect_ her.”

“Emma-” Charming tried to interject, but the blonde cut him off.

“Don't tell me that doesn't mean anything. These feelings obviously didn't happen overnight.”

“It wasn't true love's kiss,” Snow started. “Even if you think you love her, she'll never love you. She _can't_ love.”

Regina looked away and headed for the stairs.

Emma sighed as she noticed Regina leave. She looked back at her parents and shook her head.

“I don't think that's true. She loves Henry...and what about Daniel? She loved _him_.”

“That was a long time ago,” David said.

“She's capable of love,” Emma flatly said, her expression dark as she glared at them.

“How do you know,” Snow asked. “All she's done is fight, scheme, manipulate, hold grudges and hate.”

“She was in pain. It's not an excuse, but it explains where she's coming from.”

“We don't trust her,” David started. “And neither should you.”

“I'm an adult. I can make my own decisions and I believe in her. I believe she wants to be a better person, the person she used to be. From what I understand there was good in her.”

“With a heart as black as hers, I don't think it's possible for her to change,” Snow said.

“Sometimes people can surprise you if you just give them a chance.”

“We gave her _every_ chance,” David nearly shouted.

“In _your_ world. Not here. Things are different now and I'm not just talking about me and her. I'm staying.”

David scoffed.

Snow puffed out a frustrated sigh.

“You stay for the night,” Snow started after a moment.

“What?! Snow, she can't stay here,” David explained.

Snow raised her hand to silence him.

“You have until tomorrow by noon to prove she can change,” Snow continued. “If you two haven't figured something out, something concrete, by then, you're coming back to the apartment and you and Henry will not see her anymore.”

“What? No, that's not a fair deal. I'll prove it to you by noon tomorrow, but if we don't have a solution then I come back to the apartment. But Henry still gets to see her if he wants to. She's still his mother and that's entirely _his_ decision to make.”

“I won't agree to that,” Snow said.

“You told me Henry had every right to know his father when we found Neal in Manhattan. Don't you think he still has every right to see his mother when Regina raised him for the last ten years?”

“Grandma,” Henry piped up. “I still want to be able to see her. No matter what happens.”

His eyes were pleading as he looked up at Snow.

She gave a defeated sigh then looked at Emma again.

“Fine. Meet us at Town Hall at noon.”

“Okay. ...I'll see you tomorrow,” Emma said as she motioned to the door.

She guided the three of them out and stopped Henry before he walked through the doorway.

“Henry,” Emma turned him to face her and crouched down in front of him. “I still have a walkie-talkie at the apartment. Do you have one here?”

“Yeah,” Henry quizzically looked at Emma. “In the table by my bed. Why?”

“I'm gonna need help coming up with a plan. I thought you'd want to help.”

Henry smiled.

“Yeah. Like another Operation Cobra?”

“Yep. Just like that. Except we should call it something else.”

“Like what?”

“I don't know. Um, Operation Save the Queen?”

Henry chuckled.

“Henry, you coming,” David called out from the end of the walkway.

Henry and Emma looked to David.

“One second,” Emma told him then looked at Henry again. “What do you think?”

“I like it, but...it might be a little obvious.”

“Well, what else could we call it?”

“Operation R?”

“R?”

“For Regina.”

“Operation Regina?”

“It's not like you have anything better.”

“Save the Queen is way better.”

“Whatever. We can come up with a name later.”

“Okay,” Emma smiled. “The walkie-talkie is in my bedroom. I keep it in a shoe box in my closet.”

“Got it.”

Henry gave her a quick hug that she reciprocated then hurried to Snow and David.

Emma watched them leave before she went inside and shut the door. She took a deep breath and released it in a sigh as she looked up the stairs.

She made her way onto the second floor and stopped outside of Regina's room. She leaned in and listened for a few seconds. When she didn't hear anything, she knocked.

“Regina? Can I come in?”

No response.

Emma gulped as she turned the knob then slowly opened the door. She eased herself inside though her body was tense. She looked exactly how she felt: like she didn't belong there.

“Regina?”

“I said you could stay in the guest room,” Regina tried to sound commanding as she emerged from the master bathroom.

Instead, she sounded tired and upset.

Emma frowned.

“I wanted to make sure you were okay. My parents had no right to talk about you like that, especially in front of Henry.”

“I don't need your help, Miss Swan,” Regina said as she went to her bed and laid down.

Emma shook her head.

“No. You don't get to do this.”

“Do what?”

“Give up. You're stronger than that.”

“I'm tired. Can we talk about this in the morning?”

“We have to talk about it now,” Emma said as she sat on the edge of the bed, Regina's legs behind her.

The brunette rolled her eyes.

“Go to bed, dear, before I regret my decision.”

Emma reached out and placed her hand on Regina's forearm. She gave it a gentle squeeze until the older woman locked eyes with her.

“I'm not giving up on you. Henry's not giving up on you.”

“They won't forgive me. Snow, David, the whole town,” Regina looked away from Emma. “They'll never accept me.”

“I'll make them.”

“Forcing people to do something never goes well. Trust me.”

“I do.”

Regina met Emma's gaze, shocked.

“Why?”

“Because I finally see it.”

“See what?”

“Your heart.”

Regina tiredly, disbelievingly laughed.

“If you could see my heart, you wouldn't be here right now. You would never believe me or trust me.”

“You're talking literally. I'm speaking metaphorically.”

“Then maybe you should be literal about it. I've done a lot of terrible things, dear. You spent months trying to prove I shouldn't be around Henry _before_ you broke the curse. And after, you immediately took him from me. You know I'm bad and you know I can't be saved.”

“You want me to really see your heart? Fine. Show me your heart, Regina. I'll show you I'm not going to run.”

“Running is what you do best.”

“Running was easy. Staying is a challenge. You know me well enough to know I like challenges. Plus, Henry's stuck in the middle of all this and I know he'd like it if we at least got along. We don't have to date or anything.”

“It was just your magic in that room that saved me. You were right. It was all about Henry. You did it to make sure he didn't have to lose me.”

“You said earlier that it had to be more than just about Henry.”

“You'd just resuscitated me. I was delirious.”

Emma shook her head.

“Lie to me all you want. We both know the truth. I was only able to do what I did because I was thinking about you.”

“You don't love me. If that's where you're going with this argument-”

“Tell me I'm wrong, Regina. _Show_ me I'm wrong. If you think this is all just some adrenaline kick back from my hero trip, show me.”

Regina stared into green eyes for a long moment. She took a deep breath then reached into her chest.

Emma watched Regina's fingers disappear inside her own skin and stood. She remained beside the bed, but instantly tensed. Her eyes were wide in shock and slight horror.

Regina pulled out her heart with a grunt and held it out to Emma. It almost looked like charcoal.

“You can certainly see my heart now. Still think you can save me? Once a heart starts to darken, you can't undo it. The more you give in to your temptations, all the things you know are bad and wrong and evil, the darker it becomes. As you can tell, I never had much self-control.”

Emma slowly relaxed as she looked back and forth from Regina and her heart a few times. When she looked at Regina again, she stepped closer to the bed and reached out. Her hand hovered above the black organ until she noticed a red glow in the center. There was a bold red part of her heart untouched.

Emma parted her lips as she admired the heavy object. She stared at it with awe seconds before she touched it. She cupped the heart, still in Regina's hands, and felt it beat under her palm.

A shiver ran down Regina's spine. She gasped as she felt a warmth in her heart she hadn't felt in a long time, a part of her that wasn't set on revenge.

Emma gulped and pressed her fingertips against Regina's hand beneath the heart. They held it between their hands and Emma let Regina in. She broke down her walls and focused on the beat of her own heart.

When Emma's heart beat, a surge of golden magic traveled from her chest to her arms and into Regina's heart.

Emma quickly sat back down on the edge of the bed as she felt the magic weaken her. Every time her heart beat, it sent out of a wave of her magic.

Regina felt it every time. Her heart beat faster and faster as the warmth spread. She closed her eyes and let it happen. The pain started to fade with every beat of the blonde's heart. She felt like her old self again, hopeful and something she couldn't quite place yet.

Emma gradually pulled back her hand until she no longer touched Regina's heart. She lightly gripped the edge of the bed with the hand she'd had on the heart and the other placed between her and Regina.

They stared at the dark heart and their eyes widened, surprised.

The red part of her heart had grown. It was still small in comparison to the black that surrounded it, but it had indeed grown.

“How is that even possible,” Regina asked.

Emma smiled.

“I think I just healed your heart. Maybe not entirely, but...enough to show you why I'm still here. That is what I believe in.”

Emma pointed to the red part of the heart.

“That's the part of you I know will win out.”

“No,” Regina started. “It won't. And you don't mean anything you're saying.”

Emma sighed and rolled her eyes. She used her other hand, the one closest to Regina and rested her hand over the brunette's heart. She leaned in and moved their hands out of the way before she kissed Regina.

Their lips softly touched as Emma's hair fell around both their faces. Regina's heart warmed in their hands and the older woman broke their kiss with a gasp.

Emma gave Regina a little space and pulled away. She looked down at their hands and uncovered the heart. She looked at it and lightly laughed.

“What could you possibly find so amusing, Miss Swan,” Regina bitterly asked out of defensiveness.

“I'm not laughing at you,” Emma smiled at Regina. “Look.”

The heart glowed red in the center, the organ warmer than it had been in years. The red glow had gotten bigger yet again. Not by much, but it was still noticeable.

“I think we should probably put this back where it belongs.”

“I suppose so,” Regina slowly said as she looked between her heart and Emma.

“You know, if it keeps getting red like this, maybe instead of undoing the black heart thing you could make it mostly red and start over.”

Regina skeptically laughed.

“Doubtful, dear.”

“Even faced with the truth that's in your heart, literally, and you still don't think you're capable of being good.”

“I'll never be who I once was.”

“If your own heart doesn't convince you then I promise _I'll_ prove it to you.”

Regina chuckled.

“And how do you plan on doing that?”

Emma bit her bottom lip and started to move Regina's heart-holding hand to her chest.

Regina felt her skin heat up when her heart hovered over it. Her breath hitched and her eyes fluttered closed.

“Regina,” Emma whispered.

The brunette opened her eyes and stared into piercing green orbs.

Emma smiled at her and helped Regina ease her heart back in her chest. Her smile faded and turned into a look of wide eyed surprise.

“Whoa,” Emma said.

Regina sleepily smiled a genuine smile.

“I think my heart is back where it should be, Sheriff.”

“Oh. Right,” Emma said as she pulled her hand out of Regina's chest. “Sorry.”

Regina's smile faded and she closed her eyes.

“We're supposed to figure this out, right,” Regina asked. “Whatever _this_ is?”

Emma nodded, though Regina couldn't see her through closed eyelids.

“Yeah,” she said as she crawled over Regina and fell onto her back on the other side of the bed next to the brunette.

Regina opened her eyes and looked at Emma. She furrowed her brow and looked agitated.

“You couldn't have walked around to the other side?”

“Then I wouldn't get to see the look on your face after I climbed over you.”

Regina rolled onto her side and faced Emma. She repositioned herself until she was comfortable and sighed.

“I saved your life, you know,” Emma proudly said with a smile.

“You did.”

“I'm your savior.”

Regina rolled her eyes.

“You're _the_ Savior. You save everybody.”

“But I'm always saving you. I'm gonna be doing that every day now.”

“Every day, Miss Swan? You think I'll need saving that often?”

“Given the fact that by noon tomorrow I have to prove to my parents you can change, I'd say you need saving more than anyone.”

“You have a deadline for this? Did Snow suggest that?”

“Yeah.”

“Of course she did,” Regina groaned. “Then I guess we'll have to figure out how to do that first.”

“No,” Emma shook her head against the pillow as the action messed up her hair beneath her. “We figure out us first.”

“We don't have time.”

“We'll make time.”

“Then let's make time now.”

“I'll solve this in seconds. Don't worry,” Emma smirked and leaned over.

Emma placed her hand on Regina's hip and moved in.

Regina gasped and rolled away from the blonde, her muscles tense.

Emma sighed and her hand slid from Regina's hip to her lower abdomen as the brunette moved.

“Can't solve the problem if you won't let me kiss you,” Emma said.

“I'm...sorry,” Regina started. “I don't...I can't do this.”

“Do what?”

“I can't let you in.”

“You already did. I'm laying in bed with you, I already kissed you once, and what we did with your heart...?”

“I can't open up. I don't trust anyone.”

“I'd ask you to trust me, but knowing you I know that won't change anything. I don't trust easily either, but...okay, when I was fifteen,” Emma started as she sat up in the bed. “I dropped out of high school and got my GED.”

“Have you forgotten, dear? I looked at your record. It was over a year ago, but it wasn't hard to forget since you were only person in this town I didn't know a thing about. That is until Henry's father showed up with his fiancee. I don't know anything about them now either.”

Emma pursed her lips then frowned.

“My records didn't tell you I got a tattoo that same year,” Emma raised her left wrist and showed Regina. “I got the flower because I was so used to running away that sometimes I would forget to 'stop and smell roses'. I didn't want a rose though because they all looked tacky and like it should be on some overweight guy in his forties in a leather vest riding a motorcycle.”

“Very descriptive.”

“I'd seen some things by then.”

Regina lightly chuckled.

“I never even told Neal that and I trusted him. I knew him for two years and never told him that story.”

“Why not?”

“Well, for the most part I thought it would sound stupid,” Emma looked away as she confessed.

“I've called you out on every bad decision you've made that was available to me in your record and yet you told _me_.”

Emma innocently smiled when she looked at Regina again. She tucked her legs under herself and sat Indian-style next to the brunette.

“That was my way of telling you that you can trust me.”

“And I suppose I should tell you something if I expect you to trust me,” Regina tensed.

“No,” Emma shook her head, her eyes wider than usual to make sure Regina knew she was genuine. “You don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to talk about it. I just want you to know that you can trust me.”

“Well, if you're going to try to get me to trust you and tell me about your past, then we should at least discuss what we're doing.”

Emma bit her bottom lip.

“I felt something,” the blonde admitted. “I've always felt something, but before it was masked by anger. Now...today, when I brought you back, it was there. It was...strong. You told me what I did was more than about Henry. This is me admitting you're right.”

Regina took a deep breath and sat up. She shook her head and looked down at the part of the bed between them.

“That doesn't mean I wanted it to be true,” Regina softly said, unable to look at the younger woman.

“I want to try,” Emma said after a moment.

Regina immediately looked up and locked eyes with her. She parted her lips in shock.

“Try what?”

“Us. I want to try to make us work.”

“Are you saying...” Regina trailed off as she tried not to finish her own thought.

“Regina Mills, will you go out with me?”

Regina couldn't contain the chuckle she emitted.

“You can't handle me.”

“I've got two years worth of experience that shows I can.”

“You don't want me.”

“You don't know what I want.”

“I might not know everything you want, but I know one of those things certainly isn't me.”

Emma reached out and took Regina's hands in hers.

“You're a dark little thing, but I wouldn't change your past. I wouldn't tell you I love you, but wish you hadn't done the things you had. To me, that's not love. You shouldn't want to change anything about the person you love. You took my family from me and I did a lot of stupid stuff growing up because I didn't have them, but I can't blame you. Whatever you did, it was wrong, but you'd lost hope. You didn't feel anything other than anger and pain. I'm sure you probably felt like you had no other choice. You wanted to be happy, right? I mean, why else would you rob everyone else of _their_ happiness,” Emma chuckled. “Mary Margaret, I mean, Snow...told me what you said when she went to see you weeks ago. You told her you could have it all. I'm pretty sure you don't want _everything_. You want Henry, you want love, and you want your happy ending. The whole revenge thing is just a cover up. The darkest parts of you are all for revenge, but the person you used to be just wants to disappear. That Regina just wants what she thinks she deserves.”

“You didn't know me back then.”

“I know what I've heard. I also reread your story in Henry's book. I don't know everything that happened, but I know what my...mom has told me, what's in the book, and the rest I can piece together by your attitude and behavior.”

“Let me see if I understand this. You're good at finding people, you know when people are lying, and you do great detective work when it comes to psychoanalyzing people?”

Emma smiled.

“That's quite a skill set, Miss Swan.”

“I didn't have anyone to teach me table manners or how to do my hair, but I learned how to read people. I learned how to protect myself and reading people was something that really came in handy on the streets.”

“Apparently, reading people was something you learned _after_ Henry's father knocked you up.”

Emma tensed and looked away.

Regina closed her eyes as soon as she realized her mistake.

“I'm sorry,” she shook her head then opened her eyes. “You're just trying to help and here I am, attacking you yet again. This is why you should just leave. Maybe there's nothing to figure out.”

A small smile tugged at the corners of Emma's mouth, but never showed as she turned to the brunette.

“If there wasn't anything to figure out, you wouldn't have apologized and you wouldn't have said 'maybe'.”

“Then help me figure this out. What about Henry's father?”

“Neal?”

Regina nodded.

“I assume things didn't end well between you two. You said he didn't know about Henry when we first met.”

“He didn't. He found out in Manhattan after I found out he's related to Gold.”

“Right. Well, now that he's single again, his fiancee being evil, what does that mean for you two?”

Emma frowned.

“Nothing. He wasn't in on the scheme with her so he still gets to be in Henry's life, but...he and I aren't getting back together. I was a kid when I was with him. A lot has changed since then.”

“You don't love him?”

“I did. But he broke it and the only kind of trust he'll earn from me now is reserved for letting him spend time with Henry.”

“And you trust me? That's worse than trusting him, dear. I don't think you're moving in the right direction.”

Emma rolled her eyes.

“And not letting me help you isn't moving in the right direction either.”

“I can't change.”

“Yes, you can. I've seen it.”

“Have you? Or is that just what I wanted you to see?”

Emma groaned out of frustration.

“You're clever and sneaky and manipulative, but you're not that good.”

Regina scoffed.

“Not to mention, you already lied to Henry once and it was a big lie. You wouldn't lie to him about redeeming yourself because if he ever found out, and knowing how smart that kid is, he _would_ find out, he'd probably never forgive you. You wouldn't risk that. ...You still haven't answered my question.”

Regina remained silent, but looked deep into green eyes.

“Will you go out with me,” Emma asked again.

“No.”

“Why not?”

Regina looked away. She knew the real reason, but she didn't want Emma to know it.

“Because I don't feel the same way about you.”

Emma looked a little hurt.

Regina immediately struggled with her decision to lie to Emma when she saw the look on the blonde's face.

“Okay,” Emma nodded and said after a moment. “There's still the issue of proving to everyone you can be good and _stay_ good.”

“Don't bother,” Regina said as she turned away from Emma then removed herself from the bed.

Emma sighed.

“Regina, come on. Do this for Henry. Isn't that what you've been fighting for since I showed up in Storybrooke?”

Regina shook her head.

“It shouldn't be this hard,” Regina held back tears.

Emma cocked her head to the side and thought over the brunette's words before she slid off the bed and stood.

“What shouldn't be this hard,” Emma calmly asked as she slowly approached the older woman from behind.

“Everything,” she softly confessed. “Why does everyone get their happy ending without any effort? They all get to be happy and the only reason they struggle is because I keep making it difficult for them to enjoy their lives. I'm the only one that gets left behind and that started long before I was the Evil Queen.”

“That's what I'm trying to give you, Regina. You're happy ending.”

Tears cascaded down Regina's cheeks as she kept her back to Emma.

“You can't. I was never supposed to have one.”

Emma's heart nearly broke at her words. She shook her head and took the final step to close the space between them.

She hugged Regina from behind and felt the brunette immediately tense in her touch.

“You can't honestly believe that. You _deserve_ one and you'll get one. Maybe I won't be a part of it, but that doesn't mean I can't be the one to give it to you. I've watched you over the past couple years. I've been unbelievably frustrated with you, I've thought you were no good for Henry, I've hated what you put that kid and I through, but I've never hated _you_. And this past year, I started to see you, the real you. I can see the cracks in your tough exterior. You can't hide from me and I'm not going to let you go through that painful phase of turning into the Evil Queen again.”

Regina closed her eyes and softly sobbed as she tried to fight off the tears that kept falling.

“Let me save you from that heartbreak. No one should have to live through that so why put yourself through it twice?”

Regina put her hand to her stomach, but because of their embrace, her hand came to rest on one of Emma's.

“You want to know why I think you keep slipping? No one's been there for you. No one has held your hand and told you it's going to be okay, that you can do it. When people tell you 'no, you can't do it' for so long you start to believe it yourself.”

Regina slowly started to sit down.

Emma followed her to the floor, still holding her.

Regina fought her tears less and less as she knelt on the floor.

Emma moved one of her hands from Regina's stomach to her arm and rubbed it. After a few seconds, she moved around Regina to kneel in front of her. She grabbed Regina's hand, the one that hadn't left her own stomach even when Emma moved, and held it in hers.

“Look at me,” Emma calmly but firmly said.

Regina took a jagged breath and slowly looked at Emma.

“You can do this,” Emma strongly reassured her. “It's gonna be okay.”

With watery eyes and tear stained cheeks, she searched Emma's eyes for clarity and truth. She found much more.

Emma smiled as she started to tear up. She squeezed Regina's hand and contentedly sighed.

Regina lowered her gaze from Emma's eyes to her lips. She took a deep breath and leaned in.

Emma's smile faded as she watched Regina close the space between them. She didn't move as she waited for the brunette to come to her.

Regina pressed her lips to Emma's and kept the blonde's hand in hers. She kept their bodies the same distance apart as she had leaned over to make the contact strictly between their mouths and nothing more. She tried to take it slow and make it less intimate that way, but the kiss did more than she expected. The touch held more power than any curse, spell, or flick of the wrist Regina had experienced in all her years. It didn't matter how far away they were, the connection was strong and undeniable. There was a spark.

Emma brought her hand to Regina's cheek and cupped the side of her face. She brushed the pad of her thumb across a drying tear streak and broke it into two vertical lines down her face.

Regina pulled away and kept her eyes trained on the floor when she opened them. She sat back on her ankles and let go of Emma's hand.

Emma frowned. She got on all fours and crawled to Regina. She didn't wait for the older woman that time. She carefully crashed their lips together as she remained on all fours, Regina only on her knees. The kiss was as sweet as the previous, but more passionate. The touch as harder, but still tender and loving. The lack of proximity had diminished and Emma broke the kiss only to initiate another.

Emma placed a hand on Regina's hip and pushed herself toward the brunette. She forced the brunette to lean back and after a few seconds, Regina brought her legs out from under her.

Regina sat on the floor as Emma continued to kiss her.

Emma pushed forward until Regina laid back. She kissed Regina until she was on top of her on the hardwood floor. She eased her way between Regina's legs on the way down and steadied herself above the brunette. Her lower stomach was pressed against the lap of Regina's unintentionally raised skirt.

She pulled back and stared down into vulnerable and worried brown eyes.

“I'm scared,” Regina quietly confessed.

“I'm gonna be here every step of the way. I won't let you lose yourself again.”

“I can't do this,” Regina whispered as she felt more tears threaten to escape.

“Yes, you can.”

Regina shook her head as her eyes watered again.

“To you. I can't do this to you.”

“Do what,” Emma frowned, confused as she stayed above Regina.

“I want to make this work.”

“That's not a bad thing.”

“But I can't love you,” Regina's voice started to crack as tears fell again.

“That kiss tells me differently.”

“Please don't love me. Please,” Regina begged as her voice caught in her throat on her last word.

Emma leaned in and kissed a tear streak from the first set of tears.

One fell from Regina's squeezed shut eye and rolled across the temple toward her hair.

Emma pulled herself up Regina's body and kissed the tear before it could wet brunette locks.

Regina sniffled then parted her lips. She opened her eyes after Emma pulled back again and stared up into green eyes.

“Too late.”

“I'm only going to hurt you...and Henry.”

“That's not gonna happen.”

“Why are you fighting for this? For me?”

“Because there's a strength in you I need you to see. There's a part of you Henry sees that I think I've always known was there, but sometimes forgot to consider when I made some of the recent decisions I have. You didn't go about it the right way, but I'm amazed at how far you've come from the past you did. _You_ amaze me.”

Emma leaned in and kissed Regina on the lips. She filled it with every bit of sincerity she had as she ran a few brunette strands through her fingers. She kissed her over and over again. The more she did, the more Regina responded until she was completely comfortable with the situation. When she thought Regina was ready, she slid her tongue across Regina's bottom lip, only the tip poking into Regina's mouth for the briefest of moments.

Regina gasped as she broke their kiss for a matter of seconds then kept her mouth open for Emma when she brushed her lips against the blonde's.

Emma took it as a silent invitation and slipped her tongue past parted lips. She ran her tongue over Regina's then explored her mouth.

Regina pressed her hand against the back of Emma's neck and kept the younger woman close. She placed her other hand on Emma's hip and moved it up her body. Her fingertips pushed the hem of Emma's shirt up with them as she touched hot, taut skin no longer hid by clothing.

Emma moaned at the light touch and prolonged a kiss as she trapped Regina's bottom lip between hers. She sucked on Regina's lip for a few moments then broke the kiss when the brunette's palm gently pushed against her exposed ribs.

Emma rested her forehead against Regina's as she continued to use her forearms to balance her upper body. She closed her eyes and tried to catch her breath.

“Stay with me tonight,” Regina didn't even ask.

She made it a statement, though Emma could hear the need in her voice.

“I was never planning to leave.”

“I meant here. Stay with me in this room.”

Emma lifted herself so their foreheads didn't touch anymore and opened her eyes. She stared at Regina for a moment then nodded. She rolled off Regina and laid on her back on the space next to her then took Regina's hand in hers. She laced their fingers and stared up at the ceiling as she left half of her shirt lazily pulled up to her ribs.

“What are we going to do,” Regina asked as she stared up at the ceiling as well.

“About tomorrow or about us?”

“Tomorrow.”

“I don't know.”

Regina took a deep breath and released it with a sigh. She turned her head to look at Emma before she spoke.

“Can you promise me that whatever happens tomorrow, we'll at least have tonight?”

Emma turned and met her gaze.

“If I only get a few moments of happiness before they cast me out again, promise me it'll be here with you.”

“I'm gonna do everything I can to make sure that's not the case, but if I fail...I promise you'll have that much.”

Regina flashed a smile before it quickly faded.

“I'm tired,” Regina said.

Emma warmly smiled at her and stared for a few more seconds before she sat up.

“You should sleep,” Emma told her before she stood.

Emma held out her hand to the brunette and pulled Regina to her feet when she accepted it.

“What about you, dear?”

“I need to check on something.”

“You're not staying,” Regina sadly asked, desperation in her tone.

“I'll be back. I promise. I need to get something from Henry's room.”

“...Okay.”

Emma pulled Regina close and kissed her before she spun around and went to Henry's room. She retrieved the walkie-talkie and turned it on. Static crackled on the other end briefly before it was open to communication.

“Mom. Mom, are you there,” Henry asked.

“Yeah, Henry. I'm here.”

“Where have you been? I've been trying to get you on here for the past ten minutes!”

“I'm sorry. I was with Regina.”

“Is she okay?”

“She will be. We're gonna make sure of that, right?”

“Right. I've got a plan. Operation Black Heart.”

“What? What kind of plan is that?”

“It's mom's code name.”

“Seriously? You came up with a code name for her?”

“I thought about it on the ride back to the apartment. Makes sense, doesn't it?”

Emma lightly laughed and shook her head as she sat down on Henry's bed before she answered.

“Yeah. Okay, so what do we do for Operation Black Heart?”

“She'll have to make a sacrifice to prove she's going to change. It has to be something that guarantees she won't do anything evil again.”

“Like what?”

“I don't know. I'm eleven!”

“Okay, well, a sacrifice. That's a thought.”

“I know I already tried, but she could give up magic.”

“No,” Emma quickly said.

“Why not? Having magic made it easier for her to be evil.”

“That's not a sacrifice, that's surrendering. If they take her magic, she won't have a choice whether to use it or not. It wouldn't show her strength and self-restraint. That's not fair.”

“It was just a suggestion.”

“I know. I'm sorry. It's just that I'm sure that's what everyone would want to see. Regina powerless. But that's not a solution. It won't solve anything in terms of seeing the good in her.”

“That's true,” Henry said after he took a minute to think about it.

“But...what else is there for her to sacrifice,” Emma asked though she was really only thinking out loud.

“Yeah,” Henry responded as he also thought out loud.

They trailed off to think, but neither one of them could find an answer.

“I could apologize,” Regina said from the doorway.

Emma jumped at the sound of her voice, but relaxed as she turned to the older woman.

“How long have you been there?”

“Since Henry suggested I give up magic,” she said as she walked over to the bed and sat beside Emma.

“You think apologizing will work?”

“It's a start. There's not much else I can give other than magic.”

Emma sighed then held down the talking button.

“Henry?”

“Yeah.”

“She's gonna apologize.”

“How do you know that? Is she there?”

Emma held down the button and allowed Regina to speak.

“Yes, Henry. I'm here.”

“You're really gonna do that?”

“Yes.”

“And you're gonna mean it?”

“No tricks. All truth.”

“That's great! It might not be enough, but it'll mean a lot.”

“How are you gonna prove that you mean it,” Emma asked her.

“That's the hard part. Maybe...I could show them?”

“How?”

Regina grabbed Emma's hand and sent a surge of magic from her body into Emma's.

“I'm sorry...Emma,” Regina slowly said as she used her magic to show Emma her thoughts.

Like a movie, Emma saw flashes of Regina's memories of them during every fight whether it was verbal, physical, or both. When Regina had apologized, Emma felt it in her heart that Regina was telling the truth. She didn't understand how, but she knew it wasn't a trick. The feeling was irrefutable, especially after hearing Regina call her by her first name.

“Mom? What's happening? Where'd you go,” Emma heard Henry ask as Regina broke the connection.

She blinked then looked into Regina's eyes.

“How long have you been able to do that?”

“I didn't know I could.”

“And you just tried it? On me?”

“After everything you've done magically with me and _for_ me today, I figured it was at least possible.”

“Mom?”

Regina motioned with her head to the walkie-talkie loosely in Emma's hand on the blonde's knee.

“You should answer him,” the brunette suggested.

“Uh, yeah. Sorry. Everything's fine,” Emma said to Henry as she fully snapped back to reality. “I was talking to your mom again.”

“So? Do you think they'll understand if she apologizes?”

“I think there's a good chance,” Emma said as she kept her eyes on Regina's.

“Mom?”

“Yeah,” Emma asked.

“Actually, I meant Regina,” Henry slowly said as he tried not to hurt Emma's feelings.

“Oh, sorry,” Emma apologized to Henry as she looked away from Regina then handed her the walkie-talkie.

“Yes, Henry?”

“I think I want to come home.”

“Really? You don't have to right away. I'll be okay if you want to stay with Mary Margaret and David.”

“No, I think...maybe after you apologize? I want to come home with you and Emma tomorrow.”

“Oh,” Emma said as she stared wide-eyed at Regina. “I thought I was only staying the night.”

Regina stared at Emma in silence before she spoke into the walkie-talkie, her eyes still on Emma.

“Do you want Emma to stay at the house with us?”

“Yeah. I want to live with both of you. I think...if you two stop fighting all the time, you two are better together. On the same side, you know?”

Regina didn't respond as she continued to look at Emma. She tried to read Emma's expression, but the blonde made it impossible.

“Do...do you want to stay here,” she asked Emma.

“I want to be with you. And Henry.”

“But you want to take it slow,” Regina stated as she tried to figure Emma out.

“Mom?”

Henry went without another reply.

“Yeah,” Emma answered Regina. “If we're even gonna go down that road, I kinda want to date you before I move in with you. That's not stupid, is it?”

“No. But...I'm going to need you here. The best I can offer is the guest room in terms of giving you space.”

“So...the guest room...would be my room?”

“Yes, dear.”

Emma smiled.

“Mom!”

Both Regina and Emma quickly directed their attention to the walkie-talkie.

“You can come home tomorrow. Emma's going to have her own room here. Is that okay?”

“Are you kidding?! That's perfect!”

Emma laughed.

Regina smiled then looked at the alarm clock on the nightstand.

“It's late, sweetie. Go to bed,” Regina said.

“But what about Operation Black Heart?”

“Operation what?”

Emma's smile faded, but it didn't disappear given Regina's comment.

“That's the secret name for our plan for tomorrow,” Emma filled her in.

“Black heart,” Regina asked her.

“That's your code name.”

“What a lovely name,” Regina sardonically quipped.

Emma rolled her eyes.

“Henry came up with it. It's fitting considering the current condition of your heart, but it's also kind of ironic since our plan involves you being less black hearted.”

Regina shook her head with a subtle grin.

“We'll see you tomorrow at Town Hall, okay, Henry,” Regina asked through the walkie-talkie.

“Okay.”

Emma placed her hand over Regina's around the walkie-talkie before she spoke into it.

“Get some rest. Tomorrow's a big day.”

“Got it, mom. Both of you.”

Regina and Emma simultaneously smiled.

“Mom-Regina,” Henry quickly corrected to avoid confusion.

Regina scrunched up her face when she heard her son call her by her first name. She knew it was only so she and Emma understood who he was talking to, but it still hurt.

Emma noticed and quickly darted out a hand that she ran up and down Regina's arm. The reassuring touch comforted the brunette as she spoke.

“Yes?”

“I love you.”

Regina's smile returned, Emma's hand still on her arm.

“I love you too.”

“Goodnight, Emma.”

Regina pressed down the button on the walkie-talkie for the blonde.

“Goodnight, Henry,” Emma said as she dropped her arm onto the bed in front of her.

“Would you mind if we left this on tonight,” Regina asked Emma after she let go of the button. “And take it back to the room with us?”

Emma beamed.

“Not at all. Now come on. You need to sleep as much as he does. Maybe more.”

Emma stood and held out her hand to the brunette.

Regina looked at Emma's hand before she smiled up at the younger woman and set her hand in Emma's.

Emma gently assisted Regina to her feet like the Queen she was and walked hand in hand with her back to Regina's bedroom. As they approached the bed, Emma started to let go of Regina's hand, but the brunette squeezed and pulled her close.

Regina didn't hesitate or take her time to kiss Emma. She wrapped an arm around Emma's waist and held the blonde against her.

Emma hummed into the kiss and wrapped her arms around Regina's neck. She arched her back and brushed their stomachs flush against each other. She used her arms around Regina's neck to keep the brunette's lips firmly pressed to hers.

The two stayed fuzed in the kiss for a little longer before they mutually broke it. They slowly pulled away from each other, but allowed their arms to remain attached to the other at neck and waist. After a few moments, Regina slipped away and set the walkie-talkie onto the nightstand behind her.

Emma moved around to the other side of the bed and got comfortable as Regina stood and watched.

Regina smiled as Emma kicked off her shoes and slid under the covers. She slowly did the same after Emma wiggled herself into a preferred position then rolled on her side to face the blonde.

“I never wanted this,” Regina started.

“What,” Emma asked as she rolled onto her side and got closer to the brunette.

“To be Queen. If I'd never been Queen, none of this would've happened,” Regina confessed.

“Well, I guess I'm a little biased when I say this, and don't get me wrong, I wish you never had to go through all the pain you did. But...if you'd never been Queen, you would've ridden off into the sunset with Daniel. We never would've met and I would've never known what it felt like to hold you, or kiss you, or raise our son with you,” Emma smiled.

Regina lightly laughed.

“You haven't held me,” she corrected the younger woman.

“I'm about to,” Emma's smile turned into a smirk as she moved even closer to Regina.

Regina rolled her eyes with a smile and turned her back to Emma.

Emma draped an arm over Regina's waist and snuggled into the brunette's back.

Regina curved her body to fit with Emma's and closed her eyes as she relaxed against her.

“Tomorrow,” Emma started as she settled her chin against the crook of Regina's neck. “No matter what happens at Town Hall, I'm gonna take you out for dinner. We're gonna have our first date and it's gonna be special and lovely and you're gonna feel so pampered and loved.”

Emma smiled as she thought about it.

Regina smiled too as she envisioned the date.

“It'll have to be a Granny's since there's really nowhere else to eat around here, but I'll make it work.”

“I'm sure you will,” Regina spoke in a husky voice as sleep started to take her over.

Emma lifted her chin off Regina and chastely kissed her cheekbone.

“I know you never wanted to be Queen, but...you won't mind if I still treat you like one, right? And not of the evil variety?”

Regina chuckled as she kept her eyes closed.

“I may not have wanted that life, but I've been Queen far too long not to live and be treated as such. You have my permission to do just that.”

“Then I will.”

“Would you like to be treated as a princess, dear?”

“Huh?”

“That's what you are. If I'm going to be treated as what I am then I should think you'd expect the same.”

“I've...I'm not really the princess type.”

“Sure you are. When you don't get your way, you demand things to change and then things change. You also had the curls. I miss them.”

“Who knew,” Emma rhetorically asked with a wide smile.

“What?”

“The Queen is a fan of my curls. I guess I'll have to start curling my hair again.”

“You'd better, princess.”

“Oh, come on. I just got you to call me by my first name. Now you're just finding more pet names? When? When will you ever just call me Emma?”

“You don't like the pet names?”

“That's not what I'm saying. I just...I like it when I hear my name roll off your tongue.”

Regina grinned.

“As you wish, _Emma._ ”

The blonde almost shivered at the sound. Instead, she smiled as she gently flipped Regina onto her back and leaned in. She brought her lips to Regina's and let it linger before she pulled back. She stared into brown eyes beneath her and bit her bottom lip before she spoke.

“Are you happy?”

Regina didn't blink as she stared into green eyes full of hope and promise. A smile slowly crept across her face before she answered.

“Yes.”

 


	3. Chapter 3

Emma took a deep breath before she opened her eyes and the smell of apples filled her nostrils. She furrowed her brows, confused, and saw cropped brunette hair in front of her. She noticed she still had her arm draped over the woman's waist, both of them still fully clothed in what they'd worn the previous night. She started to slip away from Regina, but the Queen didn't approve.

Regina rolled onto her other side to face Emma and groaned before she opened her eyes. She reached out and placed a hand on Emma's hip before the blonde could roll her way out of the bed.

“You're not leaving.”

Emma couldn't help but smile.

“You don't own me. You can't tell me what to do.”

Emma took Regina's hand in hers and pushed it back toward the brunette before she turned and sat on the edge of the bed. She nearly stood up when Regina latched on to the waistband of Emma's skinny jeans and tugged her back onto the bed.

“You said you'd treat me like a queen,” Regina said before she sat up and crawled to close the space between them.

Regina wrapped her arms around Emma from behind the younger woman and brought her mouth incredibly close to the Sheriff's ear to speak.

“If I say you're not leaving, you're not leaving.”

Emma got goosebumps from Regina's low, sultry tone as the brunette's voice indicated a sense of authority and possession.

“We have to get to Town Hall,” Emma said as she fought off the urge to whip around and attack Regina's lips.

Regina didn't fight that urge, however, when she looked at the bedside clock and grinned.

“We've still got two hours,” Regina said in her smoky tone before she used one of her hands to pull long blonde hair away from Emma's neck.

Regina leaned in and kissed Emma's pulse point.

Emma relaxed her eyes closed and tilted her head to the side to expose more skin to Regina.

Regina licked from the crook of Emma's neck up to the area just below Emma's ear.

Emma fell into Regina and weaved her fingers through the Queen's hair. She guided Regina back to her neck and forced the brunette's lips against her skin.

Regina hummed against Emma's neck and made the Savior's skin vibrate.

Emma bit her bottom lip and continued to hold Regina in place.

Regina nipped at the skin beneath her then glided her tongue over it before she finally sucked on hot, waiting flesh.

Emma slowly exhaled with a bit of relief and satisfaction. When Regina's lips left her neck, she eased up on Regina's hair and twisted her body so one of her thighs laid on the edge of the bed. Her eyes flickered over Regina's face until they landed on brown eyes, the two of them nose to nose with Emma's hand then loosely placed in Regina's hair.

Their lips brushed against each other before Regina smirked.

“If you're always this easy to please then I'm going to have some fun,” Regina purred.

“If you're always this horny in the morning then I'm going to get laid...a lot,” Emma joked.

“Oh, you have no idea,” Regina slowly said before she pulled away with a grin and removed herself from the bed.

Emma's jaw dropped.

“What...you can't just... You can't just say something like that and walk away,” Emma said as she stood.

Regina chuckled as she headed toward the master bathroom.

“And yet I did,” she didn't even bother to throw over her shoulder as she continued to look ahead.

“Where are you going,” Emma asked.

“To take a shower. You should consider one yourself, Miss Swan.”

“Or...I could just take one with you,” Emma suggested with a devious smile.

Regina turned and grinned back at her.

“Buy a girl a drink first, Sheriff,” Regina teased.

“Oh, come on. It's not like we're going to have a normal life anyway, right? My mom is freakin' Snow White and my dad is Prince friggin' Charming. You're the Evil Queen and I'm the Savior. It makes no sense and yet makes every sense so why can't we just skip dinner and shower together. I promise no touching,” Emma defensively raised her hands like someone had a gun on her.

“But chivalry is not dead to me, dear. We'll date first.”

“Okay, I'm willing to work with you, but answer me this. Would you have sex on the first date?”

Regina closed the distance between them and lightly dragged a fingernail up and down Emma's arm.

“Wouldn't you like to know,” Regina purred then headed for the bathroom again.

Emma threw up her hands then let them fall and hit her thighs in defeat.

“There you go again. God, you're such a tease.”

“Coming from the woman who refuses to wear anything other than skin tight pants that look as if they're painted on,” Regina quipped before she smirked through the double doors and shut them.

Emma heard the notable click of the lock and groaned. She balled up her fists and pressed them to her forehead. She spun around, her back to the bed, and collapsed on top of it. Her hands fell to either side of her head when she heard the water start to run behind closed doors and sighed. After a few seconds, she smiled up at the ceiling.

Suddenly, the walkie talkie crackled with static before Henry got through.

“Mom? Are you awake?”

Emma sat up and rolled onto her stomach on the bed. She pulled herself across the mattress like someone going through a barbed wire exercise of an obstacle course. She reached out and grabbed the walkie talkie off the nightstand then rolled onto her back toward the foot of the bed.

“Henry, it's Emma.”

“Mom! You're there. Where's Regina?”

“Taking a shower. What's up?”

“I woke up this morning and I missed you. I just wanted to hear your voice first thing.”

Emma smiled.

“Well, I'm glad you got on the walkie because I miss you too.”

“Is Regina gonna take long? I kinda want to hear her voice too.”

Emma smirked.

“Give me a minute.”

Emma made sure she didn't press the button on the walkie so she wouldn't scar her son for life with what she was about to do.

Emma wasn't sure how magic worked yet, but she bit her bottom lip and pressed her palm to the crack between the double doors to the bathroom. She closed her eyes and listened to the shower run on the other side before she took a deep breath.

Suddenly, she felt a magical charge spark within her and within seconds, the lock clicked. She opened her eyes and smiled down at the door handle before she reached down to grab it. She opened the door and her smile widened until it turned into a proud smirk.

She quietly closed the door behind herself and crept inside. The steam hid most of the little details from Emma's view, but the glass walls of the shower gave her quite a show anyway. She stared with lust filled eyes as Regina's backside glistened with water. It moved occasionally when Regina shifted her weight from foot to foot.

“Regina,” Emma yelled over the running water and startled the brunette.

“Miss Swan,” Regina exclaimed as she jumped then turned to face Emma. “This is hardly appropriate.”

Regina used one hand to cover her breasts and the other to cover between her legs.

Emma laughed.

“How did you even get in here,” Regina asked after a moment, her brow knitted in confusion.

“Magic,” Emma answered after her laughter subsided.

Regina rolled her eyes.

“And that is why you won't be learning it from me.”

“Oh, come on. Imagine all the fun we could have using magic together,” Emma said as she suggestively raised an eyebrow then looked Regina up and down.

Regina cocked out a hip,though not as much as she normally would have if she were clothed and not using her hands to conceal herself.

“Your point for rudely barging in?”

“Right,” Emma said as she straightened up and looked at the walkie talkie in her hands. “Henry wanted to hear your voice.”

Regina smiled.

“Really?”

“Yeah,” Emma nodded with a smile of her own.

As if on cue, Henry started to speak from the walkie talkie.

“Mom?”

Emma held down the button.

“Which one,” Emma asked.

“You, but...is Regina there now?”

Regina frowned at the use of her first name. Emma didn't miss it.

“You should really call her Mom too,” Emma told Henry.

“Then how will you know who I'm talking to?”

“You can start calling me Emma again,” the blonde offered.

Henry paused.

“Okay,” he sadly responded.

“No,” Regina told Emma. “He can call you...Ma and still call me Mom. That's okay, right?”

Emma warmly smiled.

“I'd kiss you, but I know that me just being here makes you uncomfortable.”

“Open the door,” Regina said.

Emma stared at Regina with confusion for a moment before she inched toward the shower door. She opened it, but kept her hand on it.

Regina leaned over and gave Emma a slow, lingering kiss.

“Mom,” Henry asked as the two women mutually, though hesitantly, broke the kiss.

Emma pressed the button to talk, but kept quiet.

Regina waited a few seconds until she realized Emma wasn't going to say anything.

“Henry, it's me. Regina.”

“Mom,” he excitedly exclaimed.

Regina beamed.

“Hi, sweetie. Listen, I think I've got a way to fix the whole Mom confusion.”

Regina told him about the different versions of the name he could call each of them and he shouted into the walkie talkie.

“Yeah!”

Emma and Regina shared a laugh.

“That's good. I'm glad you didn't try to get me to call one of you Mommy because I'm way past that now.”

Regina chuckled.

“If you say so.”

“Oh, uh, grandma and grandpa are up.”

“You should get ready,” Emma said. “And I hope you don't mind, but your mom and I have been talking and you're going to have to say at the apartment for another night.”

“Why?”

Emma held down the button, but Regina was quick to talk.

“Emma and I have made plans.”

“Plans? What kind of plans?”

“The kind of plans we should discuss as a family and in person,” Emma explained.

“Okay.”

“Henry, who are you talking to,” Snow's voice came through the walkie talkie from a distance.

The walkie talkie went silent for a little while.

“Maybe our first date shouldn't be at Granny's,” Emma frowned as she thought about it.

“Why not,” Regina asked. “It's not like we have anywhere else to go.”

“I could take you out of town.”

“I can't leave Storybrooke, remember.”

“Not true. I helped Gold get to New York and he didn't lose his memory. We can do the same for you. You just have to enchant something.”

“Maybe on our next date. It's a lot of work for such a short amount of time.”

“Wait, there's gonna be a next date?”

“Sorry,” Henry interrupted the conversation. “Grandma came in and got suspicious.”

“What'd you tell her,” Emma slowly asked as she tried to take her mind off her unanswered question.

“I told her I was talking to you and that Mom wasn't there. She still wasn't too happy about that at first, but I told her I just wanted to say good morning.”

“Good call, especially since that wasn't really a lie,” Emma said more to herself but had accidentally held down the talk button.

“I know, right? I'm getting good at this stuff.”

Both Emma and Regina could heard the smile on his face from his tone.

Regina tilted her head as a silent way of saying, “You see what you did?”

Emma winced and mouthed “sorry.”

“Operation Black Heart is still on, right,” Henry asked.

“Yeah, it's still on,” Emma answered.

“Good. I can't wait to see you guys. I can't believe we're all gonna live together too. This is gonna be great. You two will stop fighting, I won't have to feel torn between my two moms. We can be a family.”

“Family,” Emma softly said as she blissfully stared off into space.

Regina smiled.

“Family,” the brunette echoed, though not distant at all as she focused on Emma's face.

Green eyes met brown and Emma's heart soared.

“We're still gonna fight,” Emma told Regina.

“Of course.”

“But this is gonna work.”

“Definitely. Now all we have to do is convince your parents of that, which...I can't really do in my current condition.”

Emma wickedly grinned and looked over Regina's naked form, though the older woman still had herself covered.

“I can't wait to kiss every part of that body,” Emma confessed.

Regina's chest heaved as she felt a little warmer than she had felt only seconds ago.

“I'll you later,” Henry interrupted again. “...I love you.”

Emma and Regina spoke at the same time.

“I love you too.”

Emma and Regina stood outside the double doors to the hearing room. Regina took a few deep breaths to calm herself while Emma tried not to worry.

When Emma looked over at Regina, she smiled.

“Are you actually nervous? You, the Queen, the Mayor, Regina 'I'll Burn This Town to the Ground' Mills, nervous?”

Regina flashed a smile that quickly disappeared before she turned to Emma.

“I've tried to get back to this part of me for a long time, but...no one in there accepts me. They won't accept that I've changed. That I want to change.”

“You've waited almost a lifetime to be the person you were before. Just be that person and let me take care of the rest.”

“Let you deal with whether or not they accept me,” Regina made it a statement though she didn't quite believe it and needed confirmation.

“Trust me,” Emma smiled as she took Regina's hand in hers and laced their fingers.

Emma squeezed Regina's hand as reassurance and caused the brunette to warmly, genuinely smile. It was a look Emma hadn't seen before the previous night and quickly learned she'd see a lot more of it if she stuck by the other woman's side.

Regina took a deep breath and slowly exhaled before she let go of Emma's hand.

“Let's do this,” Regina said as she stared at the closed doors to the court room.

Emma stepped forward and opened the doors. She walked in first and the townspeople's chatter rapidly died down.

Regina followed close behind, her posture slightly defensive and her expression unreadable for the most part.

“Emma,” Snow breathed out with a small smile. “We're glad you're okay.”

Snow glided across the floor to greet Emma with open arms, but Emma held up her hands and kept the pixie-haired woman at a distance.

“Of course I'm okay. I can take care of myself. And Regina wasn't going to hurt me.”

David looked at Regina who stood a few feet from the family, her eyes cast down.

Snow finally acknowledged Regina's presence and frowned as she looked over Emma's shoulder at the woman.

“I believe you have something to prove,” Snow icily said to Regina.

Regina looked up and Emma took a step back, away from her mother and toward Regina. She held back a smile at how the blonde stood to protect her though there was no immediate threat.

“I'd like to apologize,” Regina started as she kept her focus on Snow for a few seconds.

Regina then addressed the crowd.

“To all of you,” she continued. “The things I've done to you and your families, enacting the curse to rip away your happiness. I'm sorry. I know what it's like to be unhappy and that's why I wanted you all to suffer. Mostly I wanted you...”

Regina focused on Snow again.

“To suffer because I blamed you for what happened to Daniel. I realize now that I can't blame you for that misfortune. It happened and I can't go back to change that, but I think...maybe...that's a good thing.”

Snow furrowed her brow in confusion much like most of the townspeople did.

“I...” Regina trailed off as she looked around the crowd.

Regina sighed and tried again.

“I am truly sorry for the pain and destruction I've caused. I know you've given me plenty of chances before, but this time I think I can actually change.”

“And why would now be any different,” David asked.

Regina hesitated.

“Because she has me,” Emma spoke for her.

Regina's jaw dropped in shock.

“She's not to be trusted,” Snow said. “She's-”

“If you say the Evil Queen, this little 'meeting' is over and we're leaving. And that's 'we're' as in me, Henry, and Regina.”

Snow closed her mouth and tried to think of another way to put it. David spoke instead.

“Why are you defending her?”

“Because I know her.”

“I don't mean to interrupt,” Neal slowly started as he took a few steps toward the family. “But...you thought you knew me. Then I turned out to be Rumpelstiltskin's son.”

“Yeah,” Leroy and a few others agreed.

Emma shook her head.

“You were a liar and a thief and I was young and naïve. I've seen Regina's heart, literally, and it can be healed. You may have given her chances,” Emma looked to her parents. “But you were never really on her side. You let her deal with the heartache and the temptation of dark magic alone. You cast her out and expected her to just figure it out. After all the stuff she had to go through. I can't imagine what it must have been like to be married to someone twice your age without having a choice. Something a little girl desperately wanted and a pushy mother made happen. No one ever asked Regina what she wanted, how she felt.”

“If she was unhappy, she would've said something,” Snow said.

Emma looked at Regina as she let go of her hand.

“I can't really speculate you're feelings about the whole thing so you'll have to explain,” Emma told Regina.

Regina nodded then looked to Snow.

“You were only eight. What was I supposed to tell you, your father only married me to help take care of you? He never loved me. He only used me and not just to mother you. I kept the other side of his bed warm at night. When ruling the kingdom became too stressful, he turned to me for companionship. He didn't want to feel alone and having a young wife trapped beneath you does wonders to fix that.”

Regina had started off sympathetic and sad, but by the end of her confession she was bitter and upset as the memories came flooding back to her.

Snow shook her head in disbelief.

“No, my father would never do that,” she softly argued, on the verge of tears.

Regina looked down at the floor and bit her tongue to keep from saying anything more about it. She wanted to spare the woman the heartache of slandering the memories of her late father.

“It doesn't matter now. I did what I had to do. I took care of you. Until I'd gotten better at magic.”

“We all know who we can thank for that,” Emma muttered as she looked to Rumple.

Neal, still standing relatively close to his father, locked eyes with Emma for the briefest of moments. He could tell she wasn't happy with either of them. He didn't blame her.

Neal turned to Rumple.

“Dad, is that true?”

Rumple took a deep breath as he looked from Regina to Neal.

“Yes, I taught her magic. But she wanted to learn and she knew what she was getting into. She sought _me_ out, dearie.”

The last sentence was directed at Emma.

“That didn't stop you of taking advantage of her, though, did it. She was desperate,” Emma said.

Neal shook his head, disappointed.

“Again, none of that matters,” Regina piped up. “Look, I just wanted to apologize. I was unhappy and I blamed you and took it out on everyone here. It wasn't really fair that I had to live such a miserable life while all of you seemed to get what you wanted.”

Snow frowned.

Even David seemed a little affected by that.

“That doesn't mean I was right in what I did, but I thought you should know that's why I did it,” Regina finished.

Emma smiled at Regina then turned to her parents again and walked up to them.

“They may just seem like words,” the blonde started. “But she means every last one of them.”

“How do you know that for sure,” Snow asked. “How can you believe her, knowing all that she's done? Seeing the magic she wields and how she's tried to take Henry.”

Emma opened her mouth to answer when the doors burst open again. She spun around and saw Hook standing just inside the doorway as the doors closed behind him. His jaw was clenched shut and his attention was angrily directed at Regina.

“Revenge is a funny thing,” he started as he pulled a vile out of his pocket then popped the cork with his teeth. “You start off looking for one thing then stumble upon a new problem entirely. Well, you're my new problem, Regina. And this time..”

Hook brought the vile to his lips and tossed back the swirling green liquid in a shot.

“I promise you'll stay dead.”

Hook smashed the empty vile against the floor and devilishly grinned before his eyes flashed green.

Regina held her hand at her hip, palm up, but before she could conjure anything, Hook sent a wave of green magic toward her.

“No,” Emma yelled, eyes wide as she ran in front of Regina.

“Emma,” Snow and David cried out in unison.

Regina gasped when Emma stood before her with her back to the brunette, her arms held out to shield the other woman.

The second Emma stepped in front of Regina, the blast of green struck her like lightning.

Emma convulsed only once as though she'd been shocked and squeezed her eyes shut before she started to fall.

“Mom,” Henry yelled as he ran to Regina and Emma, forgetting all about the name issue they'd resolved that morning.

“Emma?”

Regina spoke softly as she reached out to grab the blonde before she could hit the floor. She followed the blonde to the ground and sat on her knees as she held Emma.

Hook noted the tears that had started to form in the brunette's eyes and claimed his attack a victory, though he hadn't physically harmed Regina, the way he'd intended to harm her. He shrugged and turned to see Rumple among the crowd.

“Hello,crocodile. Guess I'll be having the two for one special today,” Hook said as he approached the older man.

Rumple stood protectively in front of Lacey who watched everything play out with confusion.

Lacey bit her bottom lip and grinned as she noticed Rumple prepare for a face off.

“No, no, no, no,” Regina started to cry as she looked at Emma.

The blonde's eyes were closed and Regina didn't feel a pulse.

“Why would you do that,” Regina softly asked as a tear streamed down her face. “You shouldn't have saved me.”

Snow and David were both in shock as they slowly made their way to Emma.

“Mom,” Henry frantically cried as he knelt in front of Regina, Emma between them.

He shook his head.

“She can't be dead. Mom,” he looked up at Regina that time. “Tell me she's not dead.”

Regina's heart felt as though it had broken twice in a matter of seconds. The first when she watched Emma take the magical hit for her and again when she looked at Henry. Tear were evident on her son's face as he sniffled, looking to her for an answer she couldn't give him without lying.

Instead of crying more, Hook's voice broke her out of her melancholic mood.

“I'm gonna finally skin my crocodile,” Hook nearly growled.

“That's never gonna happen,” Rumple said.

Hook raised his hand to expel magic from it when suddenly, he was thrown across the room. He slammed into the wall with a grunt. The back of his head made contact with the wall as well. Instantly he was knocked unconscious.

Rumple looked from Hook slumped against the wall on the floor to the cause of his unconsciousness.

Everyone else did the same.

Regina sat with one arm around Emma's shoulders while she held the blonde across her lap. Her right hand was extended as she panted, her jaw clenched as a tear streak on one of her cheeks glistened in the light.

Snow recognized the look on Regina's face.

“David, take Henry,” Snow said as her eyes never left Regina, though the brunette didn't return her gaze.

David could tell Regina was angry, but didn't know what she was capable of in that moment. He trusted his wife and did as she told him. He crossed an arm over Henry's chest and placed a hand under the boy's arm before he pulled his grandson away from her.

Henry staggered backward as David dragged him to his feet, away from his two mothers.

Snow stayed by Emma's side, but still didn't take her eyes off Regina.

“She'll always turn to magic,” Rumple said as he started to limp toward Hook. “She'll never change.”

“Shut. Up,” Regina barked as she glared at the man, though her voice was broken by choked back tears. “I just saved your life, you bastard.”

“But that's not why you used magic, is it,” Rumple said over his shoulder as he closed in on Hook.

Neal clenched his jaw tight as he carefully approached the fallen Emma and watched the exchange between Regina and his father. He was only a few steps away from Regina, but stopped.

Regina didn't dignify Rumple's question with an answer. Instead, she looked down at Emma and lowered her right hand. She ran the backside of it down Emma's cheek then ran tips of blonde hair through her fingers.

“There has to be a way to bring her back,” Henry said as he tried to wriggle his way out of David's hold.

Regina looked at Henry and thought about it. She knitted her brow and looked down at Emma again.

“You'll never be good, dearie. We all have our crosses to bare,” Rumple softly said in a low tone as he threateningly raised his cane over Hook.

“Don't,” Neal yelled as he grabbed Rumple's wrist to keep him from attacking Hook with his cane. “Be the bigger man for once and just walk away.”

Rumple looked over his shoulder at his son as he tried to decide what path to take.

Suddenly, everyone gasped and caused both Neal and Rumple to turn back to the rest of the crowd.

Regina's lips were pressed to Emma's in a chaste kiss. With her left arm supporting Emma's head and her right arm draped over Emma's stomach to hold her close, she opened up her heart to the woman in her lap.

A burst of magic appeared from their connected lips and everyone felt the sensation of good, powerful magic rush through them.

Regina broke the kiss and gasped as she opened her eyes wide and stared at Emma. Within seconds, Emma took a deep breath as her eyes shot open with life then locked them onto Regina's.

Hook groaned as he started to wake up.

Rumple turned his attention to the pirate and hastily grabbed him.

Neal was about to protest when Rumple aggressively brought Hook to his feet and shuffled him over to David.

“You'll want to lock him up, Deputy,” Rumple said through gritted teeth as he pushed Hook into David.

David let go of Henry and caught Hook then held the man's bicep tightly to hold him in place, no handcuffs on him.

“Looks like I saved _you_ this time,” Regina smiled at Emma.

Emma returned the smile and lightly laughed.

“Only because I saved you first.”

Regina chuckled and a few tears of joy escaped her.

“True love's kiss,” Henry piped up as he knelt beside Emma again then looked at Regina. “Mom, you did it!”

Snow stared at Regina with a bit of confusion and maybe a little shock and disgust.

“True love is pure,” Rumple interrupted. “If she's capable of that, she's capable of being good.”

“Who's side are you on,” Regina asked, angered by the man but also confused.

“Mine. But, to tell you the truth, Regina, I didn't know if you had it in you. I knew the day would come when you had to choose between dark and light. I didn't think you'd choose light, but true love has surprised us all today. Congratulations, dearie. Looks like you'll finally have a chance at that happy ending.”

Emma started to sit up and caused Regina to direct her attention to the blonde.

Regina let go of Emma and eased the younger woman into a sitting position beside her.

Henry immediately hugged his birth mother.

Emma hugged him back then separated from him a bit so she could turn to Regina.

“I told you I'd help you have your happy ending,” Emma said, an arm still wrapped around Henry in a loving embrace.

David looked at his wife. When she met his gaze, eyes wide, he flashed a small smile and shrugged.

“Emma's happiness is important to us, right,” David asked.

Snow sighed then nodded.

David looked from Snow to Regina.

Snow soon looked at the brunette as well before David spoke.

“We'll have to come up with a way for you to pay for your crimes that doesn't involve locking you up, but...Snow and I will forgive you.”

Regina looked from David to Snow.

Snow nodded after a moment.

“As far as being with our daughter,” David added as went into 'protective dad mode'. “If you hurt her in any way, we will not hesitate to imprison you for life.”

“Understood,” Regina said. “As far as paying for my crimes, I can return all the hearts I've taken and vow to never hurt any one of you,” Regina turned her attention to the townspeople. “Unless you hurt my family. Then I can't guarantee your safety.”

The townspeople looked at one another then to David and Snow.

“Alright.”

“That seems fair,” several of them shrugged as they agreed with her.

“But,” Leroy started as he stepped forward. “We'd also like that same courtesy extended to us as well. If there's something you can do to help or protect us, we'd like it. Am I right?”

“Yeah,” came the staggered reply of the crowd. “That'd be nice.”

Regina sighed.

“If the circumstances are dire then I'll do what I can.”

“Correction, _we_ will do what we can,” Emma said. “Oh, and she gets her title as Mayor back.”

David opened his mouth to protest, but Emma cut him off.

“Come on, you know she's the only one that really keeps this town together, right? What do any of you know about running a small town? Not a kingdom, a town. With a bunch of paperwork to file and send out. Really. Who wants to spend their time trying to figure that out.”

David shut his mouth then nodded.

“Right. It's a deal,” he conceded.

“Thank you,” Regina said.

Regina sat in the tub, relaxed. It had been a week since she'd reclaimed the title as Mayor and every other night was date night with Emma. She smiled as she thought about the last date, the one they'd had that night. Emma found something for Regina to enchant and took her to a restaurant outside of Storybrooke, memories safely intact.

The evening had gone well and Emma had thoroughly surprised her all through the night. Regina thought it was only fair she reward Emma for her good behavior and for a glimpse at the world Regina had barely started to see. And that date wasn't completely over yet.

“You love me,” Emma said as she sat between Regina's legs in the shared bubble bath, her back against the brunette's front.

Regina smiled and teased Emma by running her hand up and down the blonde's arm.

“No more than you love me.”

Emma smiled as she leaned further into Regina. She closed her eyes and sighed with relief as all her tension melted away.

“I'm never going to let you go,” Regina purred in Emma's ear.

“Good because I'm taking this true love thing like wedding vows. 'Til death do us part, right,” Emma smiled as she took Regina's free hand in hers.

Emma laced their fingers and kissed Regina's knuckles.

Regina chuckled.

“Well, when the time comes, I hope you know we're writing our own vows.”

“Oh, I can see it now,” Emma smirked. “Regina, the day I met you, I thought you were beautiful, but then you kept trying to run me out of town and then everything with us became this sort of unspoken challenge. Sometime after you tried to poison me, I realized how much life would suck without you even though you've spent most of the time we've known each other trying to destroy me. I'd be honored to spend the rest of my life wondering every time we fight if you'll actually succeed in killing me.”

Regina laughed.

“Emma, when I first saw you, I knew there was going to be trouble. You had that awful red jacket and Henry was with you. When he said he'd found his real mom, I hated you. Maybe even more than hated your mother. But you kept saving me even when _I_ felt I wasn't worth saving. Then you started to believe me when I said I didn't kill Archie and the rest of the world became our enemy. You were on my side and it was up to us to stand together to prove my innocence. That didn't last very long, but when I thought nobody would notice, or care, I was gone on Henry's birthday, you came and saved me yet again. I'm so unbelievably happy to spend the rest of my life trying not kill you every time we fight.”

Emma laughed.

“You know, I think I kind of like those vows. It fits. I mean, we come from the Enchanted Forest. We're the fairy tales every kid thinks they know and we're both too scarred, screwed up people. Why not have strange vows? It's not like what we just said wasn't the truth.”

Regina gently pushed Emma off her.

Emma frowned and as she turned to face Regina.

“Did I say something wrong,” Emma asked.

Regina beamed and shook her head.

“No, I like those vows too.”

Emma slowly smiled then closed the space between them. She pressed her lips to Regina's and kissed her for a long moment. When she broke the kiss, she smiled again and waited for Regina to look at her before she spoke.

“I love you.”

Regina grabbed Emma by the hips and pulled the blonde back to her. She sunk a little into the tub to give Emma a more dominant position over her and brushed her lips against Emma's. She pulled Emma flush against her and pressed her thighs into Emma's sides to hold her there.

Regina kissed Emma as she trapped her fingers in wet, tangled blonde hair. She broke the kiss for only a moment.

“I love you too.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The End.  
> Hope you enjoyed!


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